The Reluctant Cheerio
by Talwyn
Summary: When Rachel finds herself slushied for a record breaking third time in a single day, she finds herself in the locker room and out of clean clothes. She finds help from an unexpected source, but just what do they want, and will Rachel be able to handle the fall out? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: **This is my first attempt at writing fiction of any kind. I've sort of had the premise for this story knocking around in my head for a while and after giving a friend the advice to practice writing by writing fan fiction, I thought I'd take my own advice and give it a go. I'm not sure at this point where the story is going to go after the first few chapters, so suggestions are welcome. I'm not sure how fast I'll be able to update, chapter two is already almost complete, but I do intend to finish the story, wherever it goes. Future chapters won't be as short as this one.

**Time frame:** Set at the beginning of season two, when Quinn has returned as Head Cherrio but Santana is her second in command, not at the bottom of the pyramid.

* * *

The Unholy Trinity swept into the choir room as if they owned it, Quinn in the lead with Santana and Brittany on either side with their pinkies linked between them. They paid little attention to the others in the room heading directly to their usual seats on the top level of the risers; Santana pulling Brittany more or less onto her lap causing Quinn to roll her eyes and wonder when the two will finally admit to what was so obvious to her and probably everyone else in the room.

Quinn surveys the room and realises that, once again, Mr. Shue is late. Typical, but not surprising, and for someone so demanding of punctuality in his students, a little annoying. She sighs pulling a sketch pad out of her bag and opens it to her latest sketch. It's almost complete now and Quinn contemplates the final details before placing pencil to paper.

The representation of Quinn is unmistakable, her hair is wild and she looks exhausted but her eyes are soft and a tear is rolling down her cheek as she looks down at the baby in her arms. The little girl is wrapped in a blanket but her features are blurred as if the viewer were looking at her through tear filled eyes, which is exactly how Quinn remembers this moment. The little life she had carried for nine months and had just given birth to clutched so tightly to her breast for such a short time and her heart breaking because now she finally understands what it means to give her up.

Quinn closes her eyes for a moment and prays she's done the right thing.

A gentle nudge against her shoulder pulls her out of her reverie and she looks up to see Santana looking at her with a worried expression, occasionally glancing down at the sketch in her hands. Santana might be a bitch and sometimes Quinn's worst enemy, but the last year has shown that the Latina really does care about Quinn in her own way. Quinn forces a small smile and nods slightly before returning her attention to the pad and pencil, once again ignoring the hubbub of the others in the choir room.

That is until the choir room suddenly falls silent and Santana's surprised "Holy Shit" causes her to raise her eyes once more. Her gaze follows Santana's and Brittany's across the room to the door and not even her HBIC training can stop the look of astonishment cross her face. Quinn feels a twist in her stomach and the blood rush to her face, for the first time since Beth was born she feels something other than heartbreak or numbness, something she should certainly not be feeling when looking at a girl.

Standing in the doorway in full Cheerios uniform, complete with high ponytail and cheeks flushed with embarrassment, is Rachel Berry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: **Thanks so much to everyone who's follwing, favourited and reviewed so far, its good to know people are actually interested in this story. So here's the second chapter, which ends at the same point in time as chapter 1.

Please don't expect chapter 3 to arrive as quickly as this though, while this was almost complete when chapter 1 was posted, I've only got the outline for chapter 3 at this point.

* * *

Earlier…

Rachel keeps her head down as she hurries along the corridor to the last class of the day, last but for Glee club of course. She'd already equalled her record of two slushy facials today so she was hopeful that she'd get through the remainder of the day without any more incidents.

"Hopeful but not stupid" she thought as she slows and peaks around the next corner.

The corridor ahead appears clear of slushy wielding jocks and cheerleaders so Rachel steps out to continue on her way. If asked later Rachel would claim she had no idea why she'd done it, maybe it was an automatic reaction, maybe she let her guard down or maybe it was just pure fate but when she heard her name called from behind her, she turned around and received a record breaking third slushy facial of the day.

Rachel stands in the corridor with her eyes tight shut against the sticky gloop, shuddering at the sudden chill before wiping her eyes clear with one hand and running for the nearby girls' locker room. She slumped down onto one of the benches, sobbing quietly as the cold liquid drip off her body onto the floor. She couldn't understand why everyone hated her; all the slushies, names, shoving and taunting were starting to make her wonder why she bothered with William McKinley High any more. Maybe a transfer to that school for the musically gifted in Chicago that her fathers had told her about was a good idea. All she wanted was some friends, to get through school and get to Broadway. She really couldn't remember why she chose to stay in Lima anymore.

She stares morosely at a point on the tiled floor by her feet, watching the liquid pooling and staining the floor. She shudders again as she feels some slushy slide down between her breasts and quickly pulls off her sweater, using any dry bits to wipe the worst of the slushy off of herself leaving her in just a bra and one of her sinfully short skirts.

A third slushy meant her emergency slushy kit was out of clean towels and clothes and while sitting in a wet and sticky jumper was bearable, spending the rest of the day in a wet and sticky bra wasn't something she wanted to experience. She sighs to herself as she holds her sweater out at arm's length. Ruined. Wearing this wasn't going to be an option and all her other clothes are just as bad. The little singer wonders for the umpteenth time if she could get the school to pay for replacements but dismissed the idea. Principal Figgens wouldn't or couldn't stop the slushy attacks, so why would the spineless principal pay for the damage they cause?

Rachel considers what she could do. A towel wasn't a problem; she could borrow one from the adjoining Cheerios locker room as long as she could get in and out without being seen, they'd never notice an extra towel in their laundry. Clothes however were going to be a different problem. She pulls out her other two tops and laid all three out on the bench and stood with her hands on her hips trying to pick the one that was the least stained. The ones from earlier today had at least dried off somewhat, but that just made them stickier if anything, and they all looked like they were going to be unpleasant to wear.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class Streisand?" a harsh voice booms across the locker room making Rachel jump.

Just what she needs right now, Coach Sue Sylvester. Rachel had instinctively spun round at the shout to face the source of the noise and finds the Coach with an armful of Cheerios towels. Wait, the Coach is doing laundry? When did she do anything other than shout at people through a megaphone or on this case across a locker room?

"One of your minions or the football team decided for the third time today that my appearance would be improved by the application of copious amounts of slushy" Rachel replies as she turns back to the bench, "And I'm all out of clean clothes"

Silence rings loud through the locker room and Rachel assumes that either Coach Sylvester got bored of her answer and left, or is standing behind her fuming silently about Rachel's reference to her minions and about to explode at any moment. If she'd turned round Rachel would have seen something very different. Sue was standing absolutely still, her face carefully composed but her eyes darting up and down Rachel's body, measuring, analysing and plotting. If an observer were to gather the courage to look into her eyes, and let's face it not even Sue looked into her own eyes in the mirror, they would have sworn they could see the cogs turning. A conclusion is reached, a smirk breaks through Sue's icy façade, and action is taken.

Rachel feels something soft hit the back of her head and she spins around to find a Cheerios towel at her feet. She looks up to find Coach Sylvester marching towards the interconnecting door to the Cheerios locker room.

"Take a shower Streisand" the coach tosses over her shoulder "I'll get you something clean to wear."

Rachel wonders for a moment if taking that at face value would be a bad idea but she's still sticky from the slushy and her hair was a mess so she'd have to take a shower at some point and at least now she has a clean towel without having to sneak into the other locker room. She strips off the rest of her clothes, wrapping herself in the towel and stuffs her dry underwear and skirt into the locker, leaving the sweaters on the bench with the hopes they'd dry off some more. She grabs her toiletries, slams the locker door and heads to the showers.

The hot water and steam is a relief after the cold slushy and Rachel sighs with pleasure as she feels it run over her body. If there was one positive to being slushied on a regular basis, Rachel had to admit it was basking naked under the fast flowing hot water that the school never seemed to run out of. She washes herself thoroughly, towels herself off and fixes her hair into a ponytail before heading back to her locker.

"Took you long enough, Little Miss Loud" Sue states from her position leaning against some lockers further down the row.

"What have you done with my sweaters?" the Diva demands, noticing them gone from the bench.

"Those abominations? I burnt them, couldn't risk my Cheerios coming down with something from being in the same zip code" Sue sneers, "Made me sick just looking at them."

There's a bundle of clothes on the bench where her sweaters had been and without even touching them Rachel can tell it's a Cheerios uniform.

"You want me to wear that?" she squeaks. She can't imagine the ridicule she'll be on the receiving end of if she walks out the locker room in that uniform. Worse she has Glee in under an hour and she can't bear to think what Santana or, oh God, Quinn would do to her when they see her.

"While the offer is very kind of you I don't think it's advisable for me to be seen in the building in a Cheerios uniform. I'll borrow the top if you don't mind, my skirt is still serviceable and …" Rachel begins

"It's all or nothing Michele …"

"Rachel"

"Whatever. No one and I mean no one, wears just part of a Cheerios uniform" Sue states glaring at the girl, "You want to spend the rest of the day in that fruity, but oh so sad, skirt and bra ensemble?".

Rachel swallows and considers her options to find that she has none. With her sweaters gone she has a choice of the Cheerios top or her bra and she wasn't about to give anyone the pleasure of seeing her walk around in just a bra. If she took the top that meant the whole uniform, but at least the most private parts of her body would be covered, right? That was the important thing anyway and the skirt wasn't that much shorter than the ones she normally wears, she'd just have to avoid Quinn and Santana until everything blew over. With a sigh Rachel nods and tentatively picks up the top.

"Good" Sue says, "And remember; the ponytail is part of the uniform."

Sue pushes off the lockers and walks along the row, pausing at the end snapping "And be in my office at five, sharp" leaving confused Rachel looking at the corner she had just disappeared around and wondering just what was going on.

* * *

It was almost half way through the period before Rachel manages to force herself out of the locker room clad in the Cheerios uniform. The uniform itches, or maybe that's just in her mind, and despite the fact the halls are empty she feels like every pair of eyes in the school are following her. She gets half way to class before nerves get the better of her causing her to dive into a girls bathroom, locking the door behind her.

She walks over to the counter along one wall, looking into the mirror mounted above unconsciously tugging on the bottom of the skirts panels. The uniform isn't that bad, the tops just like a tank top and the skirt, well it's a bit shorter than she's used to and it flies about a bit when you walk, but the spankies underneath protect her modesty more or less, and those are not much shorter than some of the shorts she wears in the summer months.

Rachel decides that it is what the uniform represents that's causing her stress. What will her so-called friends in Glee club think, or worse say, when they see her in it? What will Santana and Quinn do to her? Rachel considers just skipping Glee and going home but that means walking out the front of the school past numerous class windows and in full view of anyone that happens to look out. At least if she says until after Glee everyone else will have gone home. And she suddenly remembers Coach Sylvester's order to be in her office at 5pm. Well, that decides it for Rachel; she might as well go to Glee and face the proverbial music, as well as creating some.

Rachel waits for the bell to ring then waits some more for the crowed in the corridor outside to dissipate. She isn't keen on being late to Glee, but right now she was less keen on being seen. She sticks her head out the door and, when she sees the way is clear, heads towards the choir room. As she approaches she can hear the rest of the gleeks chatting away like normal and she can already feel her cheeks heating up.

She stops just out of view of anyone in the room, nervously straightening the panels of the skirt. She takes one final deep breath then steps into the doorway. It takes a few moments and then silence falls.

"Holy Shit"


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note:** I woke up and 9am this morning (unheard of for me on a Sunday) with ideas and couldn't get back to sleep until I'd written them, so here they are. I was tempted to put this chapter off till chapter 4 just to annoy snowdrop1026, but I thought better of it, so here are the reactions, well some of it anyway, more fallout later no doubt. For extra points, see if you can see who says what when stunned silence gives way to, well, what the Glee club do best.

**Disclaimer:** Spanish translations via Google Translate, please don't blame me if they are wrong.

* * *

"Holy Shit"

For a moment silence is all that can be heard, no one moves, no one blinks, no one breathes. The members of the Glee club can't believe what they are seeing, sitting stunned at the sight before them, the moment drawing out until it is broken.

"Who's the new girl?"

"Britt, that's Berry" Santana automatically replies.

And then all hell breaks loose.

A wave of sound spews forth from the risers and rolls across the choir room, the impact on Rachel enough to cause her to physically take a step backwards. Everyone is talking or shouting at once, partial phrases breaking through to be heard before being swamped in the discord.

"Oh Hell Girl, you did not…!"

"Mailman, mailman, mailman…"

"Cuyo cadáver robaste eso de ...?" ("Whose dead body did you steal that from...?")

"Oh My God, another fashion disaster!"

"Hot..."

"Yay! Now we can have that threesome you wanted San…"

Santana, now red faced for reasons other than anger at Rachel's appearance in a Cheerios uniform, really hopes no one else heard Brittany's last comment, though the odd looks fired their way from some of the gleeks means that is probably not the case.

Everyone is talking except Brad, who simply raises an eyebrow, and Quinn who is still sitting with her mouth literally hanging open and a red tint to her cheeks. Quinn sees girls in that uniform every day, even when she wasn't on the Cheerios, everyone at McKinley High does, but she's never felt her heart race like this before. Everything else fades away and Quinn can't draw her eyes away from the sight before her, her mind screaming at her to do something, say something, at least look away, anything, but her body is unwilling to comply.

A hand propels Rachel into the room and she only manages to avoid ending up face-down on the floor because of her years or ballet lessons.

"Shut up losers!" Sue's bullhorn assisted voice cuts through the din as she appears in the door behind Rachel. Silence once again falls.

"Q, Boobs McGee, Tweedle-Dumb", Sue pauses looking at Brittany still bouncing up and down on Santana's knee and shakes her head, "Never mind, Q make sure Eva Peron here is in my office at five" she says indicating Rachel.

Without waiting for acknowledgment, Sue turns on her heel and stalks out leaving Rachel once again facing the Glee club in silence. She decides to take advantage of the situation.

"While it appears to be the case, I want to take this opportunity to assure my fellow Glee club members that there is no way I am joining the Cheerios…"

"Damn right midget" Santana interrupts earning her a slap on the arm from Brittany.

Rachel ignores her, "I am simply borrowing this uniform since I ran out of clean clothes after a slushy attack and Coach Sylvester wouldn't let me wear just the top, after she apparently burned my sweaters for being 'abominations'"

"I never thought I'd agree with that woman" comments Kurt.

Rachel ignores Kurt too, "So I can assure you that after today I will be back in my own clothes and Glee will not be losing out on a second of my effort to make it great!"

Mercedes snorts, "You seriously think it's going to be that easy?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"You know what happens. What Sue wants, Sue gets. You think it's going to be that easy to walk away?"

"I assure you I have no interest in joining the Cheerios" states Rachel

"And that will make as much of a difference as sunblock in a snowstorm" huffs Mercedes.

"What about the popularity?" Asks Kurt.

"The popularity?" Rachel replies confused.

"You are wearing the one thing that will move you from loser to popular in a heartbeat, despite it being an eyesore. I mean seriously would it be so hard to get a proper designer …"

"Get to the point Lady Hummel" demands Santana.

Kurt throws Santana a look before returning to the point. "People who threw slushies at you today will want to be your friend tomorrow and we all know how much you crave attention. Are you going to be able to walk away from that?"

Rachel hadn't considered the consequences of wearing the uniform, aside from wondering if Santana or Quinn would find some way to kill her in her sleep. Would it be worth suffering Coach Sylvester to avoid more slushies? Something must have shown on her face.

"Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut…" mutters Kurt.

"She's just using you, you know!" blurts Tina, "She'll use you to destroy the Glee club, or make you quit then wait till we lose at regionals and then she'll throw you aside like a piece of trash"

Rachel's resolve hardens at Tina's comment, "Well you needn't worry Tina. As I have said, I have no intention of joining the Cheerios."

Further discussion is avoided by the arrival of a now very late Mr Shue as he walks in behind Rachel. "OK guys, let's get started." He says with no apology for being late as normal.

"Ah do you want to audition?" he asks to Rachel's back.

"Oh, Rachel. Sorry, didn't recognise you there." He says when Rachel turns to him.

Rachel huffs and spins on her heel, causing the panels of her skirt to fly up around her waist, and stalks across the room to sit next to Finn.

"Mailman, mailman, mailman…."

* * *

The lesson had started shortly after Mr Shue had arrived. Once again he lectured them for what felt like forever on some topic or other that Quinn hadn't really been listening to, but soon it was time for the club to present their performances.

Surprisingly, Rachel hadn't been the first to volunteer as she would normally, she waited until she was the last to perform and couldn't delay it any longer. She stood nervously before the others unconsciously tugging on the bottom of the skirt panels. She wasn't nervous about singing, she could sing this song with her eyes, but she was still feeling plenty of discomfort from the uniform she had been forced to wear. She closed her eyes and listened to the band playing the introduction, relaxing slightly as the music washed over her.

Quinn could see Rachel relax as she started singing. As Rachel lost herself in the music, she also lost the restraint she had been showing because of the outfit. From standing totally still she started softly swaying from side to side then a step or two in each direction, which in turn became a short strut in each direction with a half turn at each end causing the skirt to fly up around her hips.

Quinn was entranced, unable to tear her eyes away from the skirt panels as they swung back and forth, her heart rate rising as it had the first time she'd seen Rachel in the uniform.

_Quinn stands up but no one takes any notice. She slowly descends the risers from her seat at the back, crossing the floor until she can take one of Rachel's outstretched hands. Rachel doesn't hesitate to spin towards Quinn, wrapping herself in their arms until their bodies are pressed tightly together. Quinn's arm closes around Rachel's waist and Rachel's free hand finds its way to the back of Quinn's neck, pulling her down as the song ends until their lips meet…_

Wait, what?!

Quinn shakes herself out of her daydream and drags her eyes to the floor, wrapping her shaking arms around herself trying to hide her body's reaction. Her entire being seems to be on fire, she's panting slightly, unable to catch her breath and she can swear she can feel the heat of Rachel's body against hers, the touch of the Diva's lips on her own. So wrong, so very wrong, and yet… even in her imagination, so very, very right.

Rachel's song comes to an end with one final twirl that sends Finn dashing out of the room chanting "mailman, mailman, mailman…"

* * *

Rachel wasn't surprised to be surrounded my people when the practice ended. She was however surprised when Santana, with Brittany and a rather out of it Quinn in tow, barged through the gathering crowd and sent them all on their way. Santana looks at Quinn for a moment, but when nothing is forthcoming she huffs, turns back to Rachel and gestures for her to follow them.

"Come on Midget, best not to keep Sue waiting."

"I can assure you Santana, I have no intention of keeping anyone waiting, or of joining your precious Cheerios"

"Yeah, well now you can tell that to the coach, have fun with that. I'm just making sure you get there."

Rachel stands and crosses to the choir room door followed closely by Santana, who pauses after a moment and looks back to see Quinn still standing staring at the chair Rachel had just vacated. Santana sighs and heads back, grabbing Quinn by the arm she drags her along..

"Come on Q, what's wrong with you today?"

* * *

"So here's the thing" Sue states, her chair still facing away from the four girls that have just entered the office, "Since Stacy, or Sandy, or was it Stella…"

"Stefanie" Santana supplies, figuring out where the coach is headed.

"Whatever, since breaks-a-lot decided to miss her catchers and ended up in a cast or two, I need a new flyer and you, Broadway, are it. It pains me to admit it, but all that prancing about in that little club of yours actually makes you the best choice, sadly. I need someone who can actually walk in a straight line without falling flat on their faces, and that seems to be a talent few and far between have mastered in this playpen they call a school if yesterday's lunch-time try-outs were anything to go by."

Santana and Quinn had both been present for the try-outs, and Santana had to admit, Berry probably had more potential than any of the wannabes that had shown up. Quinn was still too busy thinking about short skirts and cute asses. Wait, what?!

"Coach Sylvester, while I thank you for your faith in me, I think you'll find I'm not really suitable for the job. I hate heights, have a pathological fear of being thrown anywhere and I'm pretty sure most of your, er, squad would make it a point to not catch me. Any damage to my nose may ruin my future career on Broadway before it even starts!"

"Don't care" Sue states, "You're it, take it or leave it."

Rachel immediately answers "Leave it."

"Bad choice Streisand, if you don't do this you can expect your precious Glee club to be gone within a month."

Rachel is unfazed, "You tried that all last year, what thinks you can do better this time?"

"I'm the only reason you got another year and I can make that disappear in an eye blink" Sue sneers, "And if you're still undecided, I should point out that nobody walks out of this office wearing a Cheerios uniform that isn't on the squad."

Rachel blanches, "You wouldn't!"

"Don't try me." Sue replies calmly.

"I still have my skirt on my locker."

Sue shakes her head, "Nope, had it put it out of its misery too, I could hear it squealing from the other end of the building."

Rachel splutters, unsure what to do or say. Sue hands her a sheaf of papers which she automatically accepts.

"Parental consent forms, get them signed and back to me before practice on Wednesday. Now get out of here, all of you, it hurts to look at you."

As the girls exit the office, Sue extracts her journal from the desk drawer, opening it to the first blank page she writes:

"Operation Glee-contamination: Phase 1 Complete."

* * *

Rachel had escaped the school without further incident, since she hadn't yet turned in parental consent forms Sue couldn't make her attend that days practice, and now she was sitting in her car outside her home making a plan. She did not want her Dad's to see her in this uniform, she didn't want to think what they reaction would be to seeing her in the uniform of the people who had bullied her for the last two years of her life.

Her plan was simple, get through the front door, shout hello to her Dad's, head up the stairs and into her room before anyone could see her. Change into something more her and hide the uniform in her bag to be returned to Sue's office tomorrow, preferably when Sue wasn't in it.

Her plan executed flawlessly, until she literally ran into her Dad Hiram coming down the stairs as she went up.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note:** I've been productive today. So this is my first attempt at what most people would class is "smut" and this one is posted without my editor having a chance to look at it, so please go easy on me! I know I've said in previous chapters that I don't know how often I'll be able to update, and then turned out two chapters in less than 24 hours, but this is an exception, not the norm!

**snowdrop1026: **I know, I was teasing.

**w1cked:** It would be an odd title if she didn't, stick around and see what happens.

**gleefaberry:** Thanks for the complement, its good to know that people actually enjoy reading this. The length is deliberate, as I said in the first chapter's authors notes, this is my first foray into fiction writing so I'm trying to keep it tight to avoid wander off into situations where people are just bored with filler to make up the chapter size. Though if a chapter needs to be longer to achieve what I need it to, it will be longer. The stated/said thing, over here stated would generally indicate more force than said, but I guess it might be an English vs American English thing. You're stuck with it as is I'm afraid.

**DegrassiGleek54: **A bit too predictable don't you think? Maybe.. Maybe not.

One final note, I'm not great at Photoshop, anyone want to create a cover for me?

* * *

_Quinn wakes to the sound of her bedroom door clicking closed. Its dark, well into the night and no other sound can be heard throughout the house. She feels, rather than hears, the visitor cross her room towards her bed but there is no compulsion to turn and see who it is, she already knows. Zippers open and buttons are undone, fabric glides over skin and pools and the floor but no words pass lips. The covers are lifted and Quinn feels the bed dip as the visitor climbs in behind her, then the heat of another body presses against her and a name slips from between her lips._

_"Rachel"_

_Rachel places her arm around Quinn, her hand sliding up under the blonde's tank top to caress her stomach and pulls her naked body close against Quinn's. Quinn gasps at the feeling, her hand questing back to find something, anything, of Rachel to touch. Heat blazes through Quinn at each point where naked skin meets naked skin, her stomach twitches under the Diva's fingers and wetness pools between her legs, she's so ready after just a few touches._

_Rachel's lips explore her neck, kissing and sucking, nipping and licking. Quinn knows she's being marked but she can't find it in her to care, she wants people to know she's taken, she wants people to know that someone wants her that badly. Excitement shoots through her as she imagines walking through the halls of school the next day, marks proudly on show with no attempt to hide them, letting everyone wonder who was lucky enough to mark Quinn Fabray._

_"Oh God Rachel, don't stop…" she begs…_

_Rachel's voice is quiet, her lips brushing the blonde's ear as she speaks for the first time, "I have no intention of stopping, Baby."_

_Her hand slides out from under Quinn's top and moves to cup her cheek, those cheeks that turned so red the first time she wore that uniform, and slowly the blonde looks up turning her head to towards Rachel's and their lips meet for the first time that night. A slow, chaste kiss that send a new blaze of desire through Quinn. She rolls around, turning to fully face her visitor and there they pause as the girls stare into each others eyes, shy smiles growing on both faces as they see the need and desire and love mirrored in the other girl's eyes as they know is in their own._

_Neither knew who started the next kiss, but it was Quinn that swiped the tip of her tongue across the Diva's lower lip begging for access, immediately granted. Their tongue's meet in a dance for dominance, neither giving way, only pausing when the demand for air became all consuming. Huge grins now feature on both girls faces as they pant for air and then they are kissing again, hands on each other's faces and the world melts away until all that their senses can detect are each other._

_Rachel adjusts her position, her leg slipping between Quinn's and her thigh grazes the blonde's core, the friction causing her to gasp into the Diva's mouth, pleasure shooting from her core all the way up her torso. Rachel pushes herself up on hands places to either side of Quinn's head and looks at the blonde pinned below her. She rocks her hips, grinding her thigh against Quinn and watching the girl spasm below her._

_"Mmmmm, you like that, don't you?"_

_"God, Yes" Quinn croaks, barely able to respond with the intensity of the feelings flowing through her._

_"I think someone is wearing too many clothes"_

_Without hesitation, Quinn reaches down between them and hauls off her tank top discarding it to one side and exposing her breasts to the girl above her. Rachel stares down at the beauty below, her eyes full of awe at the perfect sight, and she lowers herself once more, naked breast against naked breast, to claim Quinn's lips once more. Both girls groaning as erect nipple brushes against erect nipple._

_Rachel's lips move to Quinn's neck once more, finding the sensitive pulse point she knew would drive the blonde wild. Gasping below her at the touch, Quinn's whole body twitches involuntarily, grinding her sex harder against the Diva's thigh releasing a wanton moan from deep within her chest. Her hands explore Rachel's sides, stroking up and down from hip to shoulders and back, her fingers leaving goosebumps on Rachel's flesh as they pass._

_Rachel pushes herself up away from Quinn's body, leaving the blonde to shudder at the sudden cold that replaces the Diva's intense heat, but moments later she descends again, her hand gently squeezing the blonde's breast while she teases the nipple with her tongue while she settles her body between Quinn's legs. Quinn's hips buck below her as the blonde gasps at the contact, a fresh flush of desire soaking her core and, in turn, Rachel's stomach as she unconsciously spreads her legs wider allowing Rachel to settle deeper between them. _

_Time seems to slow as Rachel's tongue and lips tease first one breast and then the other, Quinn's hands questing over Rachel's arms, her shoulders, her fingers tangling in the brunette's hair as Quinn's body squirms below the Diva's ministrations. Rachel quests lower, exploring Quinn's abs with her mouth, moving lower over her stomach, pausing to nuzzle Quinn's belly button causing the blonde to twitch below her._

_She stops with her chin resting just above the waistband of Quinn's shorts, a question in her eyes as she looks up the length of the body below her, and Quinn nods frantically, raising her hips and barely breathing the word._

_"Off…"_

_Rachel hooks her fingers into the waistband of the sleep shorts and panties below them, dragging the sopping material down Quinn's thighs and over her feet to discard them on the floor, exposing Quinn's beauty in full for the first time that night. Rachel's breath hitches as she sees the blonde spread out before her, willing and so very, very ready._

_"You're so beautiful Quinn" she breathes, the warmth of her breath caressing Quinn's most sensitive place and causing her to shudder and moan._

_"It's all for you Rach, it's all yours."_

_"Mine" Rachel smiles, "You're all mine, aren't you Baby?"_

_"You, no one else, just you."_

_Her fingers flutter against Quinn's thighs wanting to touch everywhere at the same time, she collects some of the juices spread over them on her fingers and brings them to her mouth, and her eyes flick closed at the taste, so beautiful, so unique and so Quinn. Rachel's expression says she's just found the elixir of everlasting life and would have no problem drinking it for eternity. She lowers her lips to Quinn's inner thighs, sucking, licking and nibbling. Collecting and savoring every drop that Quinn has produced until only the glistening on Quinn's core remains._

_Quinn's arousal burns throughout her body, Rachel's lips on her thighs driving her to a whole new level of desire and even as Rachel cleans her, she feels herself producing more. She's unable to think, unable to speak, all she can do is desire, and need, and want, and God does she want. She wants to feel Rachel's lips on her, she needs to feel her tongue caress her clit, slip between her folds and finally fill her._

_She opens her mouth to demand but all she can do is whimper, a sound Quinn Fabray would never make normally, one that would drive her embarrassed to her room to hide away behind a locked door from witnesses. But right here, right now she doesn't care, all she cares about is want and need, and what she wants and needs is Rachel._

_And as if she can read Quinn's mind, her lips meet the blonde's core in a chaste kiss that sends a jolt all the way from Quinn's groin to her brain, literal fireworks going off behind slammed shut eyes and an animalistic growl ripping from her throat. Rachel licks her lips, savoring the small amount of Quinn's juices that have collected there during the brief contact and giggles at the sounds she has torn from her lover._

_With an inordinate amount of effort Quinn produces two coherent words, "Stop teasing!" she demands._

_And Rachel giggles again._

_Quinn raises herself up on her elbows, glaring down the length of her body to the Diva's face smiling from between her legs. Her resolve crumbles and she collapses back onto the bed as Rachel applies her tongue to Quinn. In one leisurely movement she drags her tongue from Quinn's entrance, along her folds and to her clit, collecting the blonde's nectar as she goes and suckling every drop. She strokes the flat of her tongue across the girl's clit and is rewarded with a gasp and a thrust of her hips…_

_"More…"_

_Rachel closes her lips around Quinn's clit, sucking and teasing the little bud as it swells between her lips. She adjusts Quinn's position, pushing her legs far apart and pulling one over her shoulder to give better access, then she releases the blonde's clit and her tongue descends her folds again, circling her entrance before returning to caress her bud. Quinn's hips buck, pushing herself against Rachel as the Diva's tongue strokes her, the blonde's desire burning so bright she's afraid she might black out, but she needs more, she needs Rachel…_

_"Inside… __**Please**__, inside" she begs._

_And Rachel complies, her lips return to Quinn's little bud and she raises one hand, her fingers sliding between Quinn's folds, gathering her juices before they reach her entrance, and with one smooth movement Rachel sinks a single digit into the begging blonde. A scream of pleasure breaks from Quinn's throat as her head is thrown back and Rachel is forced to use her free arm to hold Quinn's hips still. She pumps her finger in and out a few times, watching Quinn's upper body twist and twitch as she does so, and then adds another without warning causing Quinn to thrash around below her._

_"Close… so close.." Quinn pants, and Rachel smiles as she tongues the blonde's clit once more. She curves her fingers forward, looking for that special spot and as she finds it she smiles up at Quinn…_

_"Come for me Baby, come for me…"_

_And Quinn does._

* * *

Quinn bolts upright in her bed, covered in sweat and panting, the final convulsions of her orgasm still shaking her body and the sound of her own voice calling out _her_ name echoing in her ears. She looks around frantically and doesn't know if she's happy or sad at the lack of the brunette between her legs.

She runs her hands through her hair and tugs on her tank top to cool herself off. She looks at the clock and sees it 6:30am, too early to get up but too late to go back to sleep. Shifting in her bed, she realizes that her sleep shorts and panties are just as soaked in real life as they were in the dream. She sighs and peels them off, throwing them in the hamper with along her tank top and walks naked to her shower.

As she stands under the hot water, there is only one thing going through her mind.

"Rachel?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note:** OK, so this chapter turned out a little different to I intended. It was supposed to be a few paragraphs of Brittany and Santana meant to set something up for later and then head on to Rachel arriving for the new school day, but when I was writing that I realized that, following cannon, Brittany and Santana weren't where I needed them to even do the set up, so this happened. And someone wanted to see Hiram and Leroy's reaction which I wasn't going to do because I've no idea how to write them, but I've given it a go. Not sure I'm entirely happy with it though.

**snowdrop1026:** Glad you like it.

**gleefaberry:** Sorry, Rachels not in the shower this time. There is a shower seen or two coming up in the future, the first one might not be what you expect though.

Still looking for a story cover, PM me if you can help.

* * *

Santana had come to the realization one day during the summer that she was gay. This wasn't exactly a huge surprise to her, she had always had feelings for Brittany that she knew others girls didn't have for girls, but the morning she had sat up in bed and realized she could accept that about herself without reservation had become an important point in her life.

She had called Brittany and told her, she just couldn't wait, and then she had to switch the phone to the other side of her head as Brittany's squeal of delight had temporarily defend her. She had spent most of that day in Brittany's bedroom, talking mainly with just a little making out, and had decided that it was the right time to come out to her parents. With reassurances that Brittany and her family would be there for Santana no matter what happened, she had left for home where she had found both her parents were at home and dinner almost ready.

_"Mi'ja, is there something wrong? You've been pushing your dinner around for the past ten minutes" her mother asks._

_Santana sighs, dropping her fork onto her plate and traps her hands between her knees to stop them shaking. If she doesn't do it now she knows she might never._

_"Mama, Papa, there's something I have to tell you, something important."_

_"Mi'ja, you're not pregnant are you?"_

_"What? No!"_

_Her Papa nods, "Good, I know you've been hanging around with that Noah Puckerman recently and look where that got that nice Quinn girl last year."_

_"Well it's not that" Santana says, "It might be worse." _

_She lets her eyes drift to the table in front of her; she can't even look at them right now. Her parents look at each other, both placing their cutlery on the table and giving Santana their full attention._

_"Honey, we love you, you know you can tell us anything." Her Mama says._

_Santana isn't sure about this but there's no going back now. The next few words could change her life forever. She takes a deep breath._

_"Mama, Papa, I'm Gay."_

_There's a pause and panic fills Santana's chest, was this it? Had she just driven away her family? As she's just about to bolt from the room her Mama sighs._

_"Oh, is that all?"_

_Santana's head whips up to find both her parents smiling at her and there's no sign of hate or disgust or disappointment._

_"What?" she croaks_

_"Well, it's not like it wasn't obvious Mi'ja" her Papa says, "We've seen how you are with Brittany, the way you look at her. She makes you happy right?"_

_Santana nods._

_"Then what does it matter who you love, boy or girl, as long as you're happy and they love you back."_

_Santana's mama has come round the table to kneel next to her, wrapping her daughter in her arms. "We're so proud of you Honey; we know how difficult this was for you. Thank you for telling us."_

_But Santana's head is spinning at what her Papa said, "Love…" she whispers, "I love her."_

_"You look at her like you're Papa looks at me." Santana's Mama nods, smiling._

_And just like that she has her second epiphany of the day. She loves Brittany, the girl she's known since she was six, the girl she's been inseparable from since the day they met, and the girl she has never said "I Love You" to._

_Santana shoots up from the table, "I have to tell Brittany" and dives out the door to her car. She doesn't remember the drive over but the next thing she knows she's banging on Brittany's door, tears spilling from her eyes._

_Brittany's Dad opens the door and then steps back to let her in, gesturing to the living room where Santana finds the whole family. Brittany is on her feet, her hands shoot to her mouth and her eyes start to tear up as she sees Santana crying._

_"No" Santana says shaking her head, "No it's OK. They knew, they knew and their fine with it."_

_And then their hugging each other both girls crying tears of joy. After a few moments Santana pushes Brittany away, wiping her eyes she holds the girl by the shoulders as she catches her breath._

_"Britt, there's something else I need to tell you, something important."_

_Brittany wipes her eyes and nods wondering what's coming next._

_Santana takes another deep breath, "Britt, I love you, I love you so much and I always have."_

_Brittany breaks out in a huge smile, more tears breaking forth and again the girls are wrapped in each other's arms._

_"I know" Brittany whispers into Santana's ear, "I love you too"_

_And both girls are so wrapped up in each other they don't even hear the rest of Brittany's family cheering._

So here is Santana, happier than she has ever been, starting another school day by driving to her girlfriend's house to pick her up and drive her to school. They aren't out at school yet, not even to Glee club, and Brittany is okay with that. She has been aware of her sexuality for as long as she can remember but they've talked about it and a few times over the summer and she knows Santana has only just come to terms with hers and is still scared about what will happen when she comes out, so Brittany isn't going to push her.

Santana has hardly pulled up to the house before Brittany is bounding out and climbing into the car. She climbs partially over the central console and wraps her arms around Santana giving her girlfriend her good morning kiss. She settles back into her seat and clicks on her seat belt but a few moments later she's wondering why Santana hasn't driven off yet.

"Britt, what do you think about telling Glee club?"

* * *

The alarm goes off at 6am and Rachel pops up out of bed as if she's been awake for hours, she's always been a morning person. After using the bathroom she changes into her workout clothes, puts in her iPod earbuds and heads for her elliptical. As she starts her workout, her eyes roam around the room until they land on the Cheerios uniform folded neatly on top of her bag and she remembers the conversation with her Dad's last night.

_"Hi Dad, Daddy, I'm home!" Rachel shouts as she barrels through the front door._

_She doesn't look around but heads directly for the stairs, only to run straight into her Dad Hiram coming down the stairs._

_"Wow Honey, where's the fire? Your Daddy isn't trying to cook again is he?" He jokes_

_"It's nothing Dad, I just need to change."_

_"Wait is that a Cheerios uniform? Have you joined the cheerleaders?" Her Dad asks surprised._

_"No its nothing" Rachel begins, "Now if you'll excuse me I'll just head up to my room and change and then I have a lot of homework to do, so the sooner I get started the better. I can't let my academic record suffer…"_

_Hiram grabs her hand and pulls her into the living room, "Your academic record will survive a few minutes, your Daddy needs to see this and I need to get a photo." He says then shouting "Leroy!"_

_Leroy's surprise had been evident as he came in from the kitchen. Rachel went through the whole story of how she ended up in the uniform, the third slushy of the day, the unexpected help from the coach, the reactions from the Glee club and even the 5pm meeting and consent forms._

_"So as you see, I have no intention of joining the Cheerios no matter what Coach Sylvester says" Rachel finishes._

_Leroy shakes his head, "Honey, what have we always told you about trying new things?" He asks._

_Rachel sighs, "Not to rule something out without trying it first, as long as it's legal and safe." She says._

_"But you don't understand! Coach Sylvester is a monster; she drives those girls until they break! I don't want to be a part of that."_

_"It can't be that bad or she'd have no squad left." Leroy says "Look, you've got a chance to try something new, something that plays to your talents. Are you really going to walk away without trying it?"_

_"We've never seen you back down from a challenge." Hiram adds._

_"So you're not giving me a choice?" Rachel asks._

_"No Honey, the final choice is always yours; we will never force you to do something you don't want to. I'm just saying don't write something off without considering it first. Look Coach Sylvester obviously needs you; she wouldn't be going to so much trouble if she didn't, so maybe you can use that to your benefit." _

_He pauses and picks up the consent forms from the coffee table. "I'll sign this form, then you sleep on it tonight and tomorrow you can decide if you're going to hand it in or return the uniform, ok?"_

_Rachel nods and takes the signed forms from her Daddy. Before she heads upstairs to change, her Dad subjects her to a few minutes in front of his camera and then she escapes and is relieved to be able to change back into her own clothes._

As she works on the elliptical she considers the implications of her choice. On the pro side she'd probably not suffer any more slushy facials, which means her clothes bill would go down. And being popular would be nice; people would actually acknowledge her in the corridor for reasons other than to throw cold drinks in her face. Sue wouldn't shut down Glee club, a big plus, and while Rachel wasn't sure Sue could do it, avoiding testing the hypothesis was preferable. And finally, her Dads were right; she normally wouldn't write something off without trying it first. Brittany, Santana and Quinn all seemed to enjoy it, most of the time anyway, no matter how much they complained. Maybe it was fun…

The cons were significant though. She knew a number of the gleeks would take it as a personal insult if she joined and she didn't want to antagonize any of the few friends she actually had. Any new friends wouldn't be real friends either; they'd be friends because she was a cheerleader and popular and would drop her as soon as she wasn't popular any more, and the boys would probably just want under her skirt. It would be a lot of work too, though that didn't worry her, but she'd have to cut her singing and dance lessons and they were important.

But the big con was Coach Sylvester, under normal circumstances Rachel couldn't stand the woman, could she be in the squad she ran? Could she stand the snide comments and offensive names, the constant put downs the woman seemed to have to produce and the petty punishments? She's seen girls forced to do suicides until they pukes because they'd looked at Sue wrong. But could she use the Coach's need for her to be in the squad to her own advantage?

Rachel tore her eyes away from the uniform and picked up her pace on the elliptical, she knew what she had to do and the sooner the better.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: **So its taken us 5 chapters to go from later monday afternoon to start of school on tuesday, this chapter covers all of the important bits of tuesday.

Thanks to all who have favorited or reviewed, and/or are following. Wouldn't be the same without all of you.

I'm always open to hearing what you'd like to see happen, send me a PM if there's something you'd like to see.

* * *

She didn't expect someone to be waiting at her locker, it's not the sort of thing Finn ever did before, but there he is as large as life leaning on the next locker over from hers. Rachel's sure he hasn't seen her yet since he seems to be staring at the ass of some random Cheerio skipping past, so she walks right up to him without saying anything and waits to see how long it takes for him to notice her.

It takes a few moments.

"Oh, Hi Rach"

She rolls her eyes, "Are you quite done objectifying the passing Cheerios, or would you like some more time to stare at her, admittedly rather nice, ass?" she asks, having a good look herself.

Finn looks blank for a moment, "'Objectifying' isn't good is it?"

Rachel Sighs.

"So you've made your choice?" Finn asks

"What?"

"Cheerios"

"Oh, that. Yes Finn, I believe I've made my choice and my choice of attire today should make it clear enough that even you wouldn't have to ask."

"I don't get it Rach; if you joined we'd be the power couple of the school. Don't you want that? To be popular, no slushy facials, no more names or getting shoved into lockers…" Finn whines

Normally Rachel is very tolerant of Finn, even when he spends the evenings they spend together playing video games, but today it's just too much.

"Is that all it's about for you, popularity?" She snaps "Don't you care that just one mistake could mean I break something? An arm, a leg, a neck!"

"Oh come on, it can't be that dangerous."

"Stefanie has a broken arm and leg. In two places! It can be that dangerous" Rachel asserts "And that's someone the others actually wanted to catch…"

"Stefanie?"

"The Cheerio Sue wants me to replace, I called around last night. And if Cheerios are that popular, shouldn't you know her name?!"

"Oh come on Rach, it'll be fun…"

"Why does no one think I should have a say in this" Rachel wonders, "No, you know what Finn, if you think it's that fun go do it yourself, but leave me out of it, I'm done"

"What?"

"It's over Finn, I've had enough. Your quest for popularity will no longer be weighed down by this glee club looser, have fun with whichever Cheerio you managed to scrape off the football pitch"

"Are you breaking up with me?" Finn looks more shocked than normal.

"Do you really need it in words of two syllables or less? Okay, here it is: We are over, both of us are single, no longer dating, got it?"

"But why…?"

Rachel slams her locker shut, spins on her heel and stalks off to her class, not even dignifying his whine with an answer. Turning the corner at the end of the hall she receives the first slushy of the day.

* * *

When Rachel enters the girl's restroom she finds three Cheerios giggling together over by the sinks. She stops just inside the door and debates whether to stay here or try and find another restroom that's empty. But the door behind her swings open and the girls fall silent.

"Out!" Quinn commands.

And before the word had even finished echoing around the small room, the girls had collected their belongings and left, the door slamming shut behind them. Quinn locks the door and leans against it, watching as Rachel begins her clean up routine.

"You know, that would never have happened if you were wearing your uniform." Quinn states.

They look at each other in the mirror for a few moments before Rachel starts cleaning up. She pulls her sweater off over her head leaving herself in just a bra and starts mopping the remaining slushy up. Quinn gulps, suddenly feeling flush despite the coolness of the room, and tries to find something else to concentrate on.

"Why?"

Quinn drags her mind back to the conversation. "Sue would not have been pleased with Azimio for damaging a Cheerios uniform" Quinn answers after a pause, "And not even he wants to get Sue pissed at him."

"No, why do you want me on the Cheerios?"

"Who says I do?"

"Don't play with me Quinn, I know you better than you think."

Quinn sighs, "Sue's right, you're our only choice if we want to fill Stefanie's place. With anyone else we'd have to spend as much time on the choreography as we would on the flips and throws and, given the time we have left, they wouldn't be good enough at either. But you'd get the choreography instantly, we both know you can. And that leaves enough time to teach you the rest to the point where you're both safe and good."

"Stefanie was good I'm told, but look at what happened to her. And at least they wanted to catch her."

"What do you mean?" Quinn asks.

"None of the Cheerios like me Quinn, I'm not stupid. How do you know they won't take every opportunity to drop me on my ass?"

"It's not like that Rach" Quinn explains, "Once you're in the Cheerio's it's like you're in a family, granted a somewhat weird family, but still… If their catching you today, they know you might be catching them tomorrow, so they're not going to let you get hurt if they can avoid it. Stefanie was an honest accident, it does happen."

"What about you Quinn. What do you get out of it?"

Quinn blushes a little and looks down. She doesn't exactly know why she wants Rachel on the squad, except that Sue wants her there, but there's something inside her that's excited by the idea. A vision of Rachel spinning around with the skirt panels flying around her parades through Quinn's mind.

Quinn gulps, "Who do you think Sue will take it out on if she doesn't win sectionals? Head Cheerleader isn't just about bossing people around, its running interference when Sue's in a bad mood. And I really don't want to be in the same building when she's in that kind of mood."

Rachel nods, they've both seen Sue in a bad mood and neither of them wants to see Sue after losing sectionals.

After a pause Quinn adds, "She could do it you know, she could shut down Glee I mean. You guys were there for me last year during… well, everything. And I don't want that gone. So yeah, that's what I get out of it."

"I don't know. I don't want to become another one of _them_" Rachel states.

"Another one of whom?" Quinn realises that Rachel means more than just a Cheerio.

"Another one of those cookie cutter girls running around in a ponytail and jumping at Sue and your every command, bending over backwards to stay at the top of the pyramid and torturing other students just because _someone_" Rachel looks pointedly at Quinn, "decided they were losers. You saw those three that were here when you came in, you barely had to say a word and they were falling over themselves to get out of here."

"Not everyone is like that, look at Brittany, she loves everyone. You don't have to be like them either. Be something different. If anyone has the strength to do that it's you."

"Brittany has Santana to look after her, who's going to look after me when the girls 'higher up the pyramid'", you could almost see the inverted commas, "decides I need to fall in line?"

"I will" Quinn says quietly.

They pause again, Rachel examining Quinn closely. And despite the desire to find out why Quinn would do that, Rachel finds she is unable to ask.

After a few false starts, Rachel finally says "I don't know Quinn…"

"Think about it at least?" Quinn interrupts almost begging, "Sue won't be back in the building till tomorrow, so as long as you decide by the end of the day you can still hand in the uniform, if that's what you decide to do, without seeing her."

"OK, I'll think about it" Rachel says uncertainly.

Quinn steps forward and hands Rachel a square of paper, "If you decide to join, you'll need this. It's your locker number in the Cheerios locker room and the code for it. It's got all your stuff in it"

"Stuff?"

"Call it your started kit. Daily uniforms, practice uniforms, performance uniforms, letterman jacket, your copy of The Art of War. That sort of stuff."

And with that, Quinn unlocks the restroom door and leaves, thankful to no longer have to be in the same room as a semi-naked Rachel.

* * *

Rachel makes her way back to her locker after a rather boring second period where she spent most of the time thinking about Quinn's words rather than listening to the teacher. She's going to have to borrow notes from someone… She turns the corner to find that her locker is once again hosting visitors.

"Hello Santana, Brittany" Rachel greets them.

A non-committal "Berry" is all the reply she gets from Santana while Brittany squeals, grabs her in a big hug and spins her round twice.

"Why are you not wearing your uniform Rachie? San why is Rachie not wearing her uniform?" Brittany asks.

"Let me guess" Rachel sighs, "You're here to talk me into joining the squad, right?"

"Look Berry, I get enough of your attitude and ego in Glee and the classes we share, so no, I don't want to see you in the squad. And I'll take your lack of uniform as a good sign and assume you've made the right decision. But let's just make sure it stays that way. I know Quinn's been trying to persuade you to join, but let's just say that its best for everyone involved if you keep your nose out of where it's not wanted."

Neither girl misses the pout that Brittany is directing at Santana.

"What?" Santana asks her.

"Don't be mean to Rachie, she should join if she wants to, it'll be fun…"

"No me gusta Britts" Santana says weakly…

"No, I know you like her really, you said if she were popular we could have that threesome…"

Santana is a little slow getting her hand over Brittany's mouth and a little more information gets out than she'd like, damn Brittany and her lack of a filter.

"Um, err, yeah…" she stutters, "You heard Britts; she wants you on the squad and nobody says no to Britt, end of discussion."

Santana grabs Brittany's hand and drags her away leaving a wide-eyed Rachel behind them.

"San?"

"Yeah Britts?"

"She didn't say no."

"Yeah Britts."

* * *

Rachel thought she would be able to have a relaxing lunch at least. She'd managed to avoid the remaining members of Glee club since third period and she was starting to feel a little more relaxed. The plan was simple; since there was no Glee practice today the auditorium would be empty so she could go and have her lunch there and maybe practice a little afterwards.

Or the auditorium should be empty. Instead she finds a number of her fellow Glee club members waiting for her.

"Let me guess" she sighs, "You're here about Cheerios."

She receives various affirmations.

"For or against?"

"Against" says Kurt

"Against" agrees Mercedes.

"Against" adds Artie

"For" says Puck and then adds "What? She looks hot in that tiny skirt" when everyone looks at him.

"Out!" demands Mercedes staring at Puck and pointing to the door.

"Fine" he says heading out, "But I'm right you know!" he calls as the door closes behind him. Rachel is sure he's picturing her ass in that skirt every step of the way. It's kind of creepy.

By this point, Rachel is pretty much sick of everyone telling her what she should and shouldn't do. It's bad enough that Sue got her into this in the first place, and then her Dads had to go and sign the damn form, now she has to listen to everyone's opinion whether she likes it or not.

She sits down on the front of the stage, pulls her lunch out of her bag and unpacks the first sandwich and looks at the assembled gleeks.

"You have until I finish my lunch and then I'm going to start singing, loudly. You'd better all be done by then and afterwards I don't want to hear another word. This is your one chance, use it wisely." She says.

"She's just using you to break up Glee club…" Starts Artie

"They've been bullying you, and us, for years and now they expect you to help them…" adds Mercedes.

"The uniform is terrible. I mean I know you weren't exactly a trend setter before now, but …" says Kurt.

Rachel chews on her sandwiches, letting them go on and on but not really listening to anyone as they present objections and arguments. Soon enough she has finished her lunch and stands up.

"Enough!" she shouts.

"I will make my own decision as to whether or not I join the Cheerios, thank you very much. Now I'm sure you're all relieved to have had this chance to have your input, but if you'll excuse me, I have to practice"

She glares at them until they all pack up and head away grumbling, then turns to the piano and sits down to play.

* * *

One more period, one more period then she can visit Coach Sylvester's office and then head home. She feels a tap on her shoulder and turns, expecting to feel the cold liquid of a slushy on her face but instead finds Tina standing there.

"Oh please Tina, not you too…"

"I know everyone has been trying to persuade you to see their point of view, but I just wanted to say, if you join or not, do it for your reasons. Don't let others decide for you, and that includes Coach Sylvester. Make up your own mind and that way you'll be happy."

Tina turns and walks away and Rachel watches her go thinking that that's probably the first sane thing anyone said to her all day.

* * *

The last bell has gone and, despite Quinn's assurances, Rachel is peaking around the corner of Sue's office door to make sure there's no one there before she goes in. Finding the room empty she enters, pulls an item out of her bag and places it on Sue's desk. Before she can change her mind, she turns on her heel and leaves the office.

Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note:** Thanks everyone once again for all the reviews, favourites and follows. They really do mean a lot.

Frost47 has pointed out an issue with the previous chapter, Kurt and Mercedes joined the Cheerios at the end of season 1 (for some reason I thought it was season 2) and so their objections to Rachel joining is a little two-faced at least. I tried to think of an elegant way of handling this but couldn't, so lets just say that never happened in this time line.

* * *

For some people mornings are usually easy. They pop up out of bed when the alarm goes off, go through their morning rituals and are out the door with the minimal of trouble and effort. For Rachel, today was not one of those days. She had dragged herself out of bed after hitting snooze twice, skipped her elliptical workout, spent too long in the shower and stole her Dad's coffee. At least she felt vaguely human after that, she can see why Santana always seems to have one in her hand at the start of the day.

She's now sitting behind the wheel of her car wondering if she should give up and go back to bed for the day. She sighs and tries the ignition one more time. Nothing. She gets out, locks the car and goes to ask her Dad for a ride to school.

* * *

There's a theory that states, for every choice made the universe is split, multiple parallel branches playing out each possible option for the choice made. Rachel wonders of parallel Rachel is having a better day than her, she's probably already made it to her locker, been insulted twice by Quinn or Santana and received her first slushy of the day. Oddly the thought of that doesn't inspire as much dread as just stepping through the doors of the school.

Rachel is late enough that most of the student body are already inside at their lockers, homeroom hasn't started yet but it's only a few moments away and Rachel realizes that she can't really stand out here looking at the door for much longer. She unconsciously straightens the panels of her uniform skirt, takes a deep breath to calm her nerves, opens the door and steps inside.

In a complete anti-climax, no one pays any attention.

She heads off to her locker and is rather surprised to find people unconsciously getting out of her way. It's not the dive to get out of the way that she sees happen when the Unholy Trinity walk past but instead of getting bumped, push or having to step around people, she finds other students stepping around her or moving out of her way. Interesting. She notes a few surprised faces as fellow students realize just who they've moved out of the way of, but nobody says anything. She can see people diving for their phones though and she's sure a number of photos are taken.

She reaches her locker and pulls out the books she'll need for the next few lessons, depositing the books she took home for homework. She closes her locker and turns finding Finn standing a few paces away, his eyes obviously not directed to her face.

"Finn, if you're done staring at my ass, my eyes are up here." She says exasperated.

Boys. They only seem to have one thing on their minds, two maybe if you include computer games. Sometimes Rachel wonders why she bothers with them but she supposes she'll have to get used to them staring. Finn finally manages to look her in the eye, though she can tell it takes effort for him not to glance down again.

"Huh? Oh, Hi Rachel" he says sporting a stupid grin.

"What do you want Finn?"

"Well, I saw you in the uniform and I figured if you had changed your mind about Cheerios, you might have changed your mind about us and I just wanted you to know that I forgive you and am willing to give you another chance."

"**You** forgive me?! **You're** willing to give me another chance?!" She replies sarcastically, "Why thank you Finn, I don't know what to say…"

Finn isn't entirely sure what that means so he pushes on, "So can I take you out on Friday?"

"No"

"Saturday?"

"No Finn, not Friday, not Saturday, not any day. If anyone needed a second chance it would be you and I really don't feel like it."

She stalks off towards the restroom passing Puck in the process.

"Hey Jewish Princess, looking hot!" He says.

"No Noah"

"But I never…" he begins.

"You were thinking it!" she calls over her shoulder.

As she enters the restroom she feels a little odd not to be covered in slushy. Once finished washing her hands, she steps back turning from side to side to examine herself in the large mirror above the hand basins.

"Yeah" she thinks, "Not bad if I do say so myself."

She nods to herself, gathers her stuff and heads to her homeroom, a more confident bounce to her step.

* * *

First period on Wednesday means its Spanish and by this point even Mr Shue has caught on that Santana is fluent and so leaves her alone as long as she doesn't disturb the rest of the class. So she sits at the back of the room, Brittany next to her and Quinn on the other side across the aisle. Of course she tends to disturb Brittany a lot, but then she's been teaching the blonde Spanish since they were six.

"And Brittany could probably do a better job of teaching it than Mr Shue" she thinks to herself.

Usually she tries to take a nap, she's not a morning person even after her caffeine infusion, but Brittany stayed over last night and the Latino's parents hadn't thought to implement an open door policy yet so Santana got a really, really nice wakeup call this morning and now she's wide awake, bored out of her skull and playing with her phone which promptly vibrates in her hand. 1 New Message.

She opens the message and sees a photo of a Cheerio. She frowns, wondering why she was sent the picture until she zooms in on the small screen and sees who's wearing the Cheerio uniform. She rolls her eyes and shows Brittany who smiles one of those million watt smiles that makes Santana feel so good. She reaches over and pokes Quinn's arm until the blonde looks up and takes the phone.

As Santana watches, the head Cheerio looks at the photo blankly, then peers closer and flushes a little. She pokes at the keypad for a while before handing the phone back and returning her attention to the teacher. Santana examines her device and realizes that Quinn has forwarded the image to her own phone.

* * *

Karofsky and Asimio have certain parts of Berry's schedule memorized by now. They know she'll probably be heading back to her locker after second period and are waiting a few meters past a corner on her most probable route. Karofsky holds a giant slushy cup in his hand.

Rachel rounds the corner right on schedule and they see each other at the same moment. Her steps falter as she sees him pull back his hand ready to throw and then the uniform she's wearing registers, his eyes widen and his mouth drops open, the slushy in his hand forgotten.

After a few moments, Rachel realizes nothing is going to happen so she walks on past the two, smirking as she passes.

"Morning Boys" she says, leaving both of them staring after her in shock.

* * *

"Coach wants to see you in her office now."

Coach Sylvester's messenger Cheerio, whose name escapes Rachel, finds her on her way to lunch. She knew this was coming of course. When she wrote the letter she left with the modified permissions forms on Sue's desk she knew the coach would have something to say on the matter. She wonders if, after the next few minutes, she'll still be wearing the uniform the coach tried so hard to get her into. She's thankful she thought to bring a change of clothes with her, just in case.

"Oh well" she thinks, "On my terms or not at all, eithers good."

The Coach is in her office working on her own elliptical, making Rachel feel a little bad for skipping her workout this morning. Rachel sits before her desk facing forward, as instructed, and is playing nervously with the hem of one of the skirt panels.

"I have to say I'm surprised Broadway, I always thought you were gutless, a worm ready to be squashed under the heel of anyone passing who could be bothered to raise their boot. But this, this took cojones and for you to be sitting there in that uniform right now, I have to say I'm impressed."

Sue steps down from the machine and rounds the end of the desk sitting down in her chair opposite Rachel.

"What makes you think I'll agree to your so-called 'Terms and Conditions'?" She demands.

"The way I see it, Coach Sylvester, is that you have a choice. You yourself said you need a new flyer and a number of your own Cheerios have persuaded me that the term 'desperate' would be the appropriate. You need someone good enough to be able to pick up your complex choreography and be able to perform the flips and tosses to a high enough quality to win you sectionals and secure all the funding and other perks that the Cheerios and yourself have become used to." She takes a breath.

"And I am told that I am your best choice, by a rather large margin. Am I correct?"

Sue grunts and nods very slightly.

"So if you want me in your squad you can have me, subject to my 'terms and conditions'. Otherwise I'll be happy to return your uniform and watch you lose at sectionals."

"And what makes you think I won't take your uniform them make your life hell just for the fun of it?" Sue demands.

"I'm betting you need to win more than you need the fun." Rachel says confidently.

Sue stares at Rachel for a while, then picks up her pen and signs both copies of the modified consent forms and hands a copy back to Rachel.

"You know, you remind me of a young Sue Sylvester…" She begins.

"I learn from the best, after all you blackmailed me into the uniform in the first place." Rachel says before standing and walking out of the office leaving an open mouthed Sue behind her.

* * *

Glee club followed by Cheerios practice one after another, Wednesdays were always going to be long days and Rachel thinks that maybe she'll skip the elliptical workout on Wednesday mornings; after all she's sure she'll be getting enough exercise at practice.

By now word, and indeed photographs, have made it round the school so even after skipping lunch with the gleeks and spending it alone in the auditorium, none of them are surprised to see what Rachel is wearing when they arrive in the choir room. Lack of surprise does not equate to lack of comment though.

"I'm warning you Rachel, this won't end well and don't come running to me when it does." Starts Mercedes.

"The split in your focus won't help the Glee club" agrees Kurt, "And the uniform…"

"Quit with the fashion commentary Lady Hummel" Santana interrupts, "The midget looks better in that uniform that you look in… whatever that is your wearing."

"Santana thinks Rachel looks hot in her uniform." Brittany adds.

Attention turns to Santana who turns a little red.

"So what?" She asks, "You'd have to be pig ugly to look bad in a Cheerios uniform."

"Well thank you for the complement Santana" Rachel says politely.

"Can it Berry" is Santana's response.

Before the argument can continue Mr Shue finally arrives, late. "OK Santana has told me she has something she wants to perform." He looks over and she nods, shifting nervously, "Take it away then."

Santana steps down in front of the club and nods to Brad, who she's practiced with during lunch, and locks eyes with Brittany as the music starts.

_For you, there'll be no more cryin'_

_For you, the sun will be shinin'_

_And I feel that when I'm with you,_

_It's alright, I know it's right._

_To you, I'll give the world_

_To you, I'll never be cold_

_'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,_

_It's alright, I know it's right._

By this point, both girls have tears in their eyes, their gazes still locked together. If they had managed to look around though, they would have realised that there was a distinct lack of surprise in the rest of the room.

_And the songbirds are singing_

_Like they know the score_

_And I love you, I love you, I love you,_

_Like never before._

_Oooohhh_

_Oooohhh_

_And I wish you all the love in the world,_

_But most of all, I wish it from myself._

Tears are flowing freely from Brittany and Santana and a few sniffles are coming from some of the girls including Quinn and Brittany. The boys look unimpressed except for Kurt who's mopping his eyes.

_And the songbirds keep singing,_

_Like they know the score,_

_And I love you, I love you, I love you,_

_Like never before, like never before_

_Like never before._

As Santana finishes Brittany stands and crosses the room to hug her. "I love you" is whispered quietly between the two before the turn to the rest of the club.

"So I guess the point of this whole thing was to tell you something that, if my parents' reactions are anything to go by, you may have already worked out." Santana says.

She looks at Brittany who gives her a squeeze before she takes a deep breath and continues, "I'm gay and I'm dating Brittany."

None of the Glee club knows exactly how to react to this, sure it was pretty obvious so it's not news to any of them (even Finn) but it was still a big thing to announce it and make it official. They settle for a round of applause before they migrate down to a group hug at the front of the room.

* * *

**Authors Note 2:** So what was in Rachel's Terms and Conditions? PM me your suggestions! And does getting Sue to sign make it binding?

I was going to continue on to Cheerios practice and what follows, but its since the chapter was getting quite lengthy I decided to split it here. Stay tuned for more, probably tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note: **And so we have the continuation of Wednesday, Cheerios practice and what happens after. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

* * *

Quinn arrived at the Cheerios locker room soon after the end of Glee practice, she had asked Santana and Brittany to try and delay Rachel so that she could make sure there wasn't going to be any problems when she arrived to change for her first practice.

And it was lucky she had as a few of the Cheerios were mouthing off.

"Berry? What do we need her for?"

"She's just a loser!"

"She can't replace Stefanie; this isn't going to end well."

Quinn jumps up onto one of the benches in full HBIC mode, "Listen up you lot" she demands, "You might not like it, and I really don't care, but we need Rachel. No one else in this squad can take Stefanie's place and no one else in this school is good enough to learn the routine in time for sectionals. So you have a choice; you can accept her as a team mate or you can drive her off and lose at sectionals."

Quinn glares at the group gathered around her, "What's it going to be?"

"She's a loser!" someone shouts.

"And what would you be without Cheerios?" Quinn snaps back, "Would you still be popular? I wasn't, you lot damn well made sure of that. She's one of us now and whether that makes her popular or a loser, you will treat her as a teammate."

One of the seniors speaks up, "We can win at sectionals without her!"

"Are you sure about that?" Quinn demands, "Because I'm pretty sure your collage scholarship pretty much depends on us winning nationals" she looks around, "In fact I'm sure that's the same for a number of you, are you all willing to risk your futures?"

None of the seniors will meet her gaze and Quinn takes the few moments silence as agreement.

"Rachel's one of us" she repeats, "And you will treat her as such, in this locker room, on the football field, in this school and everywhere else. Anyone who has a problem with that or gives her trouble will be off this squad, scholarship or not. Got it?"

Nods meet her gaze and she knows she's won this round.

"Go get changed and get out on the field, we've got sectionals to win."

A few moments later a nervous Rachel enters the locker room followed by Santana and Brittany. Santana looks to Quinn and relaxes at her nod. Rachel looks a little surprised when she receives a few hellos and even a "Hi Rachel" but smiles back and heads to her locker to change.

"Problems?" Santana asks Quinn.

"Nothing that can't be handled." Quinn replies.

She heads over to Rachel's locker, gesturing for Brittany and Santana to follow.

"Rachel, Brittany will take you to the gym to learn the basic choreography. We need you to get this stuff down quickly so we have plenty of time to teach you the gymnastics."

When Rachel nods Quinn turns to Brittany, "Brittany, take whoever else you need and concentrate on the routines we'll use at sectionals."

Brittany agrees and all four girls go to change for practice.

* * *

Unusually, Sue didn't appear for the practice, though nobody except Quinn and Santana wondered why. They had both run practices before so it wasn't really a problem, but usually Sue was breathing down their necks and making sure everyone was perfect, or as close as she thought they could get.

About half way through, Quinn left Santana in charge of the squad members on the field and went indoors to find out how Rachel and Brittany were doing. She found Brittany sitting on one of the benches watching intently as Rachel and a few other Cheerios worked through a sequence Quinn knew to be one of the more complex ones in the routine.

Sitting next to Brittany, Quinn asks "How's it going?"

"Good" Brittany says enthusiastically, "She's a natural, but we knew that."

They talk for a few minutes and Quinn finds herself even more impressed with the little diva than she thought she would be. Rachel was showing as much enthusiasm for the routines as she would in Glee, and both girls were sure she'd master the choreography quickly.

Brittany goes to show Rachel some more steps and Quinn sits back and watches, glad to be off her feet for a few moments. As she watches she realises just how wrong all the names she'd called Rachel had been, she scrubs up pretty well once you get rid of the argyle, sweaters and knee high socks and while Santana was right, you'd have to be pig ugly to look bad in a Cheerios uniform, Rachel just looked hot. Quinn finds herself admiring the girl's body, the shapely legs, toned abs, natural breasts and rounded behind. All together a very attractive package she thinks as she watches the girl's limbs stretch and bend as she moves through the steps.

Quinn lets her mind wander for a while, wondering what it would feel like to have those legs wrapped around her waist, the breasts pressed against hers and her hands full of Rachel's butt, staring into each other's eyes as they close on each other, their lips touching…

Quinn jumps as she feels her body react to her daydream, her face feels hot and she has a now familiar twist of desire in her stomach and she's sure she's going to need a fresh pair of panties after practice. She looks around guiltily, checking to see if anyone else has noticed, just in time to see Rachel apparently bend over and shake her ass in Quinn's direction.

A quiet whimper escapes Quinn's throat and she decides it's best for her to head back out to the field.

* * *

Practice was tough, Rachel knew it would be, but she had never realized just how much work went into one of the Cheerios routines. She had a newfound respect for the cheerleaders even if they didn't have to sing. The hot shower after practice had given her some relief from her aches and pains but she knew that she was going to be sore tomorrow and she flexed her muscles trying to work out the kinks as she waited for her Daddy who was supposed to be picking her up.

She sees Quinn coming out of the school and guesses she must have been the last into the showers after tidying up. Maybe she should have offered to help? She decides to make sure she offers next time.

"Hello Quinn" she says as the girl approaches her.

"Hi Rachel" Quinn replies, "Are you waiting for something?"

"My Daddy is supposed to pick me up; my car is in the shop."

"Oh" Quinn says, automatically looking along the road and seeing no cars coming.

Just at that, Rachel's phone beeps and she takes it out to read the message causing her to frown.

"And it looks like I'm walking; Daddy has been delayed at work." She sighs, "I'll see you tomorrow Quinn."

She turns to walk away but feels Quinn's hand slip into hers and pull her back.

"You don't have to walk, I'll give you a lift" Quinn says pulling the diva towards her car.

Rachel considers about objecting but the aches in her legs make her think better of it and she lets Quinn lead her across the car park. Rachel notices that the blonde doesn't let go of her hand for most of the few minutes' walk it takes to get to the car and she decides she quite likes the feeling of walking hand in hand with Quinn.

Any time she had held Finn's hand, a rare event as he wasn't keen on showing his 'softer side' in public, she always felt her hand dwarfed in his and he had a habit of crushing her hand without realizing. Quinn's hand was small though and fit perfectly in hers, her skin was soft and smooth not rough like Finn's, and she held on with just the right amount of pressure, not so loose to let their hands slip apart but not too tight either.

By the time Quinn is holding the passenger side door of the car open for her, Rachel is kind of sad to have to let Quinn's hand go. As she climbs into the car both girls suddenly feel like their hands are very empty.

When they reach Rachel's home, Quinn gets out and has the passenger door open before Rachel can get her seatbelt off. Rachel climbs out groaning slightly at fresh aches in her legs.

"Are you OK?" Quinn asks concerned.

"Just a few aches and pains, I'll be fine." Rachel assures her, "I guess Cheerios' routines use different muscle groups from ballet" she jokes.

Quinn watches for a moment as Rachel stretches a little.

"How about a massage?" She offers, "I used to give Santana and Brittany massages all the time" she adds.

This was true, until they picked up enough to be able to give each other massages themselves that is, though Quinn is sure that whatever they get up to wouldn't really qualify as a massage if anyone looked close enough.

"That would be lovely Quinn, thank you" Rachel says.

They walk over to the house and Rachel lets them in. Rachel's home is cosy compared to Quinn's, it feels welcoming, relaxed and lived in where Quinn's parents always kept their house formal and meticulously spotless. Rachel directs Quinn upstairs to her room as she goes to get some drinks and, as Quinn climbs the stairs, she examines the photos lining the walls.

There are plenty of photos of Rachel at different ages of course and Quinn assumes that the two men seen with her are her fathers, though she's never met them. They all look happy in the photos, there are some with frowns or scowls but they look like comical fakes rather than real. Quinn realizes sadly that she doesn't have a single family photo where everyone looks as happy as Rachel and her father's seem in the ones that line these walls.

Quinn finds Rachel's room easily enough; the big gold star on the door with her name on it is both a giveaway and so very Rachel. She opens the door and steps inside and is surprised at just how normal the room is. Granted there's a queen-size four poster bed and an elliptical machine in one corner but the rest of the room could be any girl's room.

Quinn walks over to the vanity and looks at some of the pictures stuck around the edge of the mirror. There's Rachel with her fathers and some people that look like them, Quinn guesses these are relatives. There are pictures of various members of the Glee club, Kurt and Mercedes feature heavily, as well as some group shots of various performances. And then Quinn's eyes land on something unexpected.

When Quinn had woken up in hospital a day after given birth to Beth she had found a photo on the cabinet beside her bed. A photo that she had stared at and cried over for hours, a picture she had recreated repeatedly in her notepads over the following months. A picture of her holding Beth just after she was born.

She had no idea who had taken it and she'd wished so many times to be able to thank them for this one little bit of Beth that she could keep. And here it was stuck on the side of Rachel's vanity. Her hand rose automatically to touch it, to make sure it was real.

"I hope you don't mind" Rachel says from behind her, "When I made your copy I thought it was so lovely, there was so much emotion and love in it, that I wanted to keep a copy for myself."

"You took this?" Quinn choked out.

Rachel nods to her in the mirror, "Yes"

"Thank You" Quinn says, tears now rolling freely down her cheeks.

Rachel places the glasses of water she's holding on the vanity and takes Quinn in her arms, rubbing her back soothingly and holding her tight as she cries into Rachel's shoulder.

* * *

Sometime later, after Quinn had dried her eyes and washed her face, Rachel finally gets the massage she had been offered. Quinn had already done both her legs and right arm and was working on her left arm when Rachel lets out a groan of pleasure.

"Feeling better?" Quinn asks chuckling.

"Definitely" Rachel replies, "Your hands are like magic. I might have to get you to do this after every practice."

Quinn knows this is a joke, but her reply is serious, "That could be arranged."

"Can you do my back?" Rachel asks, "It's the only part of me still tense"

"Sure" Quinn replies, hoping the nervousness doesn't show in her voice, "You'll need to take your top off though."

Without hesitation Rachel unzips the Cheerio top and pulls it off of herself, tossing it to one side and ending up lying face down on the bed in just her sports bra. Quinn starts at Rachel's lower back, trying to ignore both the attractive swell of her bottom just a few centimetres from her fingers and the electric feeling she gets every time she touches Rachel's skin.

She works her way up Rachel's back, the moans and groans the girl makes not helping Quinn's self-control and she can't help imagining slipping her hands to places that no massage would require them to visit. She skips over the bra strap but finds the shoulder straps in her way.

"I just need to move these…" she says uncertainly as she pushes them over Rachel's shoulders and down her arms.

"Oh right" Rachel says, she reaches back and unhooks her bra, slipping the straps down her arms before pulling the whole thing out from under her, tossing it aside and settling back down onto the bed. Quinn suddenly realizes that she's in Rachel's bedroom, on Rachel's bed with a very topless Rachel.

She swallows a gulp and returns to the massage, hoping that Rachel couldn't feel her hands shaking. She can't take her eyes off of the divas back even as her fingers automatically work the skin and muscles. She felt as if her body was thrumming, each sound the girl makes driving the feeling up a pitch, making it that more intense. One more groan from Rachel and she can't take any more.

She shoots up off the bed and heads to the door, almost at a run. "Sorry, I just remembered… I have to go…" she starts.

It takes a moment for Rachel to respond but when she does, her voice stops Quinn at the door, "Wait Quinn, is something wrong?"

Quinn makes the mistake of looking back, she finds a worried looking Rachel sitting on the edge of the bed still totally topless and Quinn can't help it as her eyes are drawn down for a moment and she finds that Rachel's breasts are just as perfect as she imagined.

"No" Quinn croaks, "I just remembered… um… I promised Mum I'd help make dinner for some guests, I'd better go. I'll see you tomorrow." And she dives out the door, down the stairs and out to her car.

Rachel sighs sadly as she hears Quinn's car pull away. She lies back down on the bed looking up at the canopy above her for a while before slowly sliding her hand into her panties and when she comes moments later, she is thinking of Quinn's hands all over her body.

* * *

When Quinn gets home she finds the building cold and empty, there's no dinner party tonight, and difference between this house and Rachel's home is so very apparent. She climbs the stairs and locks herself into her room. She strips of her uniform and settles naked onto her own bed, the memory of Rachel still fresh.

She knows this feeling won't be eased by a cold shower, there's only one way to get relief and her hand slides down her torso and between her legs. She gasps slightly as she feels how wet she is and yet, a part of her mind observes, she feels no shame about what made her this way. She slips two fingers inside herself with no effort and a moan that sounds as if it were ripped from her very soul echoes throughout the room.

She pumps her fingers a few times, her thumb stroking her already swollen clit, and then she finds that spot inside her and her back arches as the convulsions take her, every muscle in her body quivering, stars exploding behind her eyelids and Rachel's name escapes her lips.

As she slips into sleep, Quinn realizes that Rachel has just given her the best orgasm she's ever had and without even touching her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors Note:** Chapter 9 and finally some Faberry, sort of. Don't kill me, OK?

* * *

Quinn wasn't entirely too clear on the details though she thought Santana was probably to blame, but somehow Puck had found out that her mother was away for the weekend and had declared at lunch on Thursday that he was throwing a party for the members of the Glee club at Quinn's house on Saturday night. Quinn's objections went unheard and in the end she gave in to the inevitable. So she roped Santana and Brittany to help her Glee club proof the place on Saturday morning, moving all the fragile and expensive stuff into her mother's room or the den, locking both doors to keep people out.

After an afternoon relaxing around the pool with the other two girls, they all headed upstairs to change for the party. Quinn decided on a deep blue dress which fell to just above her knees with a low cut back and shoestring straps that cross behind her. She added matching flats, she didn't feel like wearing heels if she was going to have a few drinks, and some simple earrings and decided to leave her hair down loose.

She found Santana and Brittany down stairs and discovered that the two were wearing very similar dresses to each other. They were one shoulder asymmetric affairs with a nipped in waist and a medium length flowing skirt, Santana's was red of course and Brittany's was a light mint green and Quinn had to admit that both girls looked amazing, so she said so.

"Wow, you two look great."

"Thanks Q" Brittany said, "You look great too."

Santana was more, well, Santana, "Uh-uh Quinn, we're both taken, go find your own girl."

Neither girl noticed Quinn blush.

Luckily Puck chose that moment to turn up and Quinn went to let him in, directing him to the table that held the snacks and, shortly thereafter, a selection of alcohol. It looked like he'd brought enough to sink a ship.

"Puck, tell me you only invited the Glee club?" Quinn asked nervously.

"Sure baby-mama, only the Glee club"

"So why did you bring all this alcohol?" Quinn asks.

"Choice, variety is the spice of life" Puck smirks.

Quinn rolls her eyes and leaves him to it.

The doorbell rings precisely at 9pm and Quinn knows exactly who that was, there was only one person in the Glee club that was always exactly on time and Quinn can't understand is why she feels so nervous as she goes to open the door. Once she sees Rachel on the doorstep, all she can think is just how stunning she looks. She's wearing a light pink strapless dress that follows her curves perfectly and drops to a layered asymmetrical skirt paired with black patent heels and is carrying a small black bolero jacket along with her clutch. Her hair is loose and her makeup natural.

Its only when Rachel clears her throat that Quinn realizes she's been staring and she tries not to blush as she invites Rachel in, takes her jacket to hang up and directs her to the living room. When she returns to the living room she finds Rachel sitting on the sofa looking a little uncomfortable with Santana sitting a little too close beside her and an amused looking Brittany looking on. Quinn wonders what's going on there but before she can do anything the doorbell rings again and she goes to answer it.

A few hours later and Quinn is glad she had decided not to drink too heavily, if only because of what she learned during a game of "I have never". Kurt has never kissed a boy, Santana, Brittany, Puck and (surprisingly) Tina have wanted to have a threesome, and Rachel has or had a crush on a girl, though she refuses to say who despite the others probing.

"Spin the bottle!" someone shouts and Santana grabs her hand to drag her into the circle.

"Drinking or not, this game you can definitely join in" she slurs in Quinn's ear.

Puck spins first and lands on Kurt. After some resistance Puck man's up and there is a little kiss ticking off the 'kiss a boy' from Kurt's to-do list. Kurt spins and lands on Brittany, and if anything the kiss is even shorter than Pucks, possibly because Santana is glaring at Kurt. Brittany spins and by sheer luck lands on Santana who is sitting right next to her, leading to a rather lengthy make out session and a very happy Santana.

Santana's spin lands on Rachel who goes bright red but accepts a small kiss and looks rather startled when Santana tries to deepen the kiss but she pulls away. Quinn's heart starts racing when Rachel reaches for the bottle and seems to get worse with every rotation, Quinn looks away unable to watch as the bottle slows to a stop and then Santana is nudging her and Quinn looks to see the bottle pointing directly at her.

She looks up and her eyes lock with Rachel's and she sees the other girl wearing a small grin as she starts to crawl across the floor towards Quinn and the blonde wonders just how much the diva has had to drink tonight. Time seems to slow down for Quinn, she feels her heart race and she's sure her face is bright red, but she can't tear her eyes away from those plump red lips that are so slowly coming towards her. And then Rachel has one hand behind Quinn's neck and their lips meet and Quinn swears that in that moment the sky fills up with fireworks and someone wires her lips to the mains as a jolt of electricity shoots to the center of her being.

And just when she thought it couldn't get any better she feels Rachel's tongue swipe against her bottom lip and her mouth opens automatically and she swears she's having a heart attack as Rachel's tongue slips between her lips. She's not sure how long the kiss lasts, it might only be seconds or it could have been minutes, but when Rachel breaks away their both panting for breath and she can hear the whoops of some of the boys around the circle.

She spins the bottle automatically, gives whoever it landed on a quick peck, Matt she thinks later, and excuses herself to go to the bathroom. All she can think about is the feeling of Rachel's lips against hers and the diva's tongue sliding into her mouth.

At 2am the party is starting to wind up, mostly because the majority of the gleeks have passed out on various pieces of furniture and Quinn has recovered enough to realize she hasn't seen Brittany or Santana for a while, she hopes they aren't doing it in her bed again. She surveys the room and finds Rachel swaying slightly in the corner and, with no suitable piece of furniture free, she decides to take the girl up the stairs and let her sleep it off in the guest room.

Rachel doesn't take much encouragement to go with Quinn but it takes a lot longer than it should to get the inebriated girl up the stairs. They reach the guest room door and Quinn opens it and looks inside, only to slam it shut again.

"Well, at least they're not in my bed." She mumbles eliciting a giggle from the brunette she's holding up. She sighs and guides the girl to her room, "Looks like your sleeping with me Rach."

She settles the girl down on the bed in a sitting position and kneels down to take her shoes off and as she rises a few moments later, she finds that Rachel has managed to unzip her dress has pushed it down around her waist. As Quinn watches, Rachel flops over backwards, raises her hips and pushes the dress down to fall on the floor. Quinn stands with her hand over her eyes for a moment mumbling something before she picks the dress off the floor, folds it over a chair and goes to find some sleep wear.

She pulls two pairs of shorts and tank tops from her top drawer to find that the diva has already burrowed her way under the covers and looked to be sound asleep. Quinn sighed again, she seems to be doing a lot of that recently she thinks, and decides that if Rachel wants to sleep in her underwear she's not going to argue with her. She changes into her own shorts and tank top leaving the others on the chair with the dress, climbs into bed and is fast asleep within seconds.

* * *

Quinn wakes up in the morning happily without a hangover since she had so little to drink last night. She goes to stretch but realizes very quickly that she's half pinned under another body. She panics for a moment but then remembers putting Rachel to bed and she figures the girl must be a sleep cuddler.

Rachel is half on top of Quinn, her right leg between Quinn's, her right arm draped over the blonde's stomach and her head tucked under Quinn's chin. Quinn's right arm goes underneath the other girl and up so that her hand rests on the diva's back and Quinn has to admit that it is not an unpleasant position to wake up to in the morning.

She runs her fingers up and down Rachel's back, drawing idle patterns there while she waits for the diva to wake up, and it takes a few minutes before Quinn realizes that Rachel isn't wearing a bra. The surprise of this makes Quinn jump a little and the involuntary movement causes Quinn's thigh to rub up between Rachel's legs and in that moment Quinn realizes she's in bed with a very naked Rachel.

The movement must have woken Rachel, because she mumbles something incoherent before rolling over away from Quinn and onto her back. Quinn doesn't exactly know what to say in this sort of situation so decides on "Morning" and reaches over to retrieve some Advil and a glass of water she had prepared the previous night, which she now hands to the girl beside her.

Rachel sits up, letting the covers drop in front of her, and accepts the offered items, swallows the pills and washing them down with some water before handing the glass back to Quinn. She sits like that for a few moments, as if trying to work out what was wrong and then looks down at herself with dawning realization. She tentatively lifts the covers and slams them back down around her before looking around frantically.

She spots the shorts and tank top that Quinn left out last night and within moments she's dragged them on to her body, collected her dress, shoes and clutch and is out the bedroom door before the blonde can react. As Quinn reaches her door she hears the diva's car start and drive away. She sighs and turns to head to the shower and finds Rachel's underwear on the floor next to the bed.

* * *

After a long shower Quinn thinks she's best go talk to Rachel before she spends the remainder of the weekend with the wrong idea. She collects Rachel's underwear and her bolero jacket and drives over to her house. Her knock on the door is answered by Rachel's Daddy.

"Oh Hello Quinn, what can I do for you this morning?" He asks.

"I just came by to talk to Rachel and return her jacket" Quinn replies, "She left it at my place this morning."

Rachel's Daddy nods and steps back to let her in, "Do you know what happened last night? She seemed a little upset when she got home and talk to us" he asks.

"It's just a misunderstanding" Quinn replies, "Nothing to worry about."

"OK, well you know where her room is."

Quinn heads up the stairs and knocks on the diva's door.

"I told you Dad or Daddy, I don't want to talk about it." Rachel says from within.

Quinn tries the door handle and finds it open; she steps in and closes the door behind her before speaking. "I guess it's just as well I'm not your Dad or Daddy then." She says.

Rachel is curled up on the bed facing away from the door still in the shorts and tank top she'd borrowed from Quinn. Quinn can tell she's been crying and can see the girl stiffen as she hears the blonde's voice.

"I brought your jacket and…" she pauses looking for the right word, "things."

"Leave them and please go" the diva replies stiffly.

Quinn walks over and sits on the edge of the bed behind Rachel, resting her hand on the divas back in a comforting way but drawing back when Rachel jumps away from her.

"Look Rach, I don't know what you think happened last night, but there's nothing to be upset about" she says.

"I woke up naked in your bed!" Rachel stated.

"I didn't even know you were naked" Quinn said trying to sooth her, "When I was putting you to bed I turned away to get some shorts and a shirt for you and when I turned back you were already under the covers, I thought you were still in your underwear and I really was too tired to try and fight you anymore"

"Why was I even in your bed?" Rachel asks quietly.

"There were no spaces downstairs and when I got you up to the guestroom I found Santana and Brittany, um, busy in there." Quinn replies eliciting a small giggle from the diva.

After a few moments Rachel asks "Nothing happened?" in a small voice.

"Nothing" Quinn assures her.

"It's just" Rachel starts and pauses, "I remember the kiss… and I thought…" she gulps.

"I thought I might have started something, I can't remember and I didn't want my first time to be something I couldn't remember" she blurts out.

At that moment the revelation stuns Quinn, not only that Rachel was still a virgin, but that she would be willing to lose it to another girl and even possibly Quinn.

After a few moments Quinn manages to pull herself together, "Its ok Rach, we just went to sleep. You got a bit cuddly during the night I guess, but nothing happened, I promise."

Rachel calms down and they talk for a bit about nothing in particular before Quinn decides to head back to her place.

"You're OK now, right?" she asks on her way out.

"Yeah", Rachel assures her, "I'm ok… and thanks."

Quinn climbs in to her car, sighs heavily and drives off.


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors Note:** There's another one of these at the end to clarify something about the story so far that, from reviews, I'm not sure I'm getting across. Please read after you read this chapter.

Updates may be a little further apart for a while, I've been working from home for a while due to a back injury and that meant I could write whenever I wanted, but I'm back in the office now so I'm a little more restricted in when I can write.

Thank you all for reviews, favourites and follows. And remember, I'm always willing to listen to suggestions, just PM me.

* * *

Santana was not a morning person, especially the day after a party, and was definitely someone to avoid until she had her first coffee of the day. The only exception was the days she woke up with Brittany and as she wakes up on Sunday, still in Quinn's guest room, her dream of Brittany dissolved into a rather pleasing reality. She found herself half pinned under the blonde's body, the blonde's lips around one of her nipples and fingers between her legs.

The first sound Santana made that morning was a rather wanton moan.

There's a soft pop as Brittany releases her breast, "Morning Honey"

"Morning Babe" Santana croaked

There were a few minutes of quiet, only punctuated by some very heavy breathing and a few moans, until Brittany broke the silence.

"No progress with Rachel last night?" She asks

"You really want to talk about that now…. gnaaahh!" Santana reply is interrupted as Brittany chooses that moment to slide two fingers into her girlfriend's core.

"I know how turned on you get when you think about the three of us together" smirks Brittany, "See?" she adds as Santana produces a fresh flush of wetness between her legs.

"I don't think she got the hint" Santana states, "Are you sure you still OK with… Oh God…" she gasps "Don't… stop…"

"I was just thinking" Brittany says in a conspiratorial tone "that if we do your fantasy, we could do mine."

Santana is confused and once she can gather her breath she asks "We've done the football pitch. Quinn's pool and hot tub… even the auditorium against the piano. What's left?"

Brittany crooks her fingers inside her girlfriend, searching for that spot that should just be…

"Quinn"

"You want a threesome with Quinn?" Santana gasped surprised.

"No, I want to watch as you fuck her." Brittany whispers, her lips brushing against Santana's ear.

… Just there.

And Santana comes undone with the image of her fingers buried inside Quinn freshly implanted in her mind.

* * *

Rachel has spent most of Sunday trying to live down the embarrassment of the events of the previous 24 hours. Everyone had seen her kiss Quinn and even though it was a game of spin the bottle, she was sure that kiss was a lot more than anything required by the game.

She knew exactly why she'd done it. Santana had surprised her by trying to give her more than just the peck on the lips that Rachel assumed was normal between two females playing the game. After that Rachel found she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to actually French kiss a girl. And then the bottle had pointed at Quinn and the alcohol in Rachel's system had given her the courage to actually try and find out. She hadn't expected it to feel so good though, Quinn's lips were so much softer than Finn's and once the blonde had opened her mouth, she didn't try and ram her tongue down the diva's throat that seemed to be standard procedure for boys. After that she'd sort of lost track of what was happening and had just kept kissing her until she had felt the need to breathe.

Both girls excusing themselves afterwards, Quinn to go to the bathroom and Rachel to get some water, probably didn't help the others impressions of the event. She was pretty sure Santana would get plenty of mileage out of that, even being a Cheerio didn't stop Santana's teasing, and her worries appeared to be confirmed when she received some texts.

_Unknown: See you at school tomorrow – Santana xo_

_Brittany: Can't wait to see you tomorrow – xo_

She'd received texts like that from Brittany before, the girls did seriously seem to love everyone, but Santana's text worried her slightly more. Santana had been cordial to her since she'd joined the Cheerios, she'd even stopped calling Rachel names other than Berry or midget and Rachel thought the latter was a term of endearment rather than an insult, though Santana would never admit that. But she'd never actually been nice and Rachel couldn't help the feeling that the other shoe was about to drop on Monday. Maybe it'd just be a bit of teasing; Rachel thought she could live with that, after all she'd lived with worse.

The freak out when she'd woken up was, ironically, less of a problem. She'd woken up naked and more or less wrapped around the other girl in her bed and with no memory of how she'd gotten there. And it had felt really, really good. She'd immediately gone to the worst case scenario, if she could kiss Quinn like that while under the influence of too much alcohol, could she have gone further and not remembered? Would her first time be forever lost to her? She hadn't even thought through the implications of it being with a girl, she'd just got up and ran. But Quinn had dropped by and had been so nice and understanding about everything, promising her that nothing had happened and calming her down. Rachel was sure that no one else had seen her leave so she thought that would stay just between them.

Her Dad's had been worried about her after her entrance that morning. She'd slammed the front door, rushed up the stairs without saying anything to them and slammed her bedroom door behind her. They'd knocked on her door a couple of times before Quinn had arrived, but she hadn't been in the mood to talk to them. After Quinn had left she'd cleaned herself up and went down stairs to reassure them everything was ok, nothing bad had happened and it was just all an innocent misunderstanding. They'd left her alone after that, but she had noticed the worried look they'd send her way occasionally over the dinner table.

Rachel spent most of that night tossing and turning in her bed, her mind split between worry about what Santana would do the next day and remembering the warm feeling of waking up with Quinn.

* * *

When Rachel arrives at her locker on Monday morning she's surprised to find Santana there waiting for her. Her second surprise is that Brittany isn't with her even though both are usually inseparable.

"Hi Rach" Santana says reaching out to give the diva's a quick hug.

Rachel gapes at her for a moment, Santana has never called her Rach before and she's sure the Latino has never touched her never mind hugged her. Well, except when she had to in Cheerios or was pushing her into a locker. In fact she can't remember seeing her hug anyone except Brittany.

"Good Morning Santana; is there something I can do for you this fine day?" she asks automatically.

"I just thought I'd see how you were after the party on Saturday, you seemed to drink rather a lot that night and I assume you aren't used to it." Santana replies.

"I'm quite well thank you, I will admit I did have a headache the next day but two Advil took care of that."

"We didn't see you or Quinn in the morning; you must have left early…" Santana probes.

Rachel tries not to blush, could Santana know more than she thought? Could Quinn have told her about Rachel's freak out?

"I don't know about Quinn but most people seemed to be asleep when I left, though I didn't see you or Brittany. I had some stuff to do…"

Rachel hopes Santana doesn't realize that she's being unusually vague but Santana's attention is distracted when Brittany arrives and wraps her arms around the Latino. Rachel grabs her books and heads to first period.

* * *

By Thursday Rachel has taken to avoiding Santana as much as possible. She's not entirely sure, she doesn't have a huge amount of experience in the matter, but she thinks Santana has been flirting with her. A lot. She'd find notes in her locker, some rather sweet and some very corny, she has received SMS messages from her and any time they were in the same vicinity, Santana would find a reason to give her a hug, or touch her arm and in once case actually kiss her on the cheek.

Frankly it was freaking Rachel out.

She returns to her locker to deposit her books before Cheerios practice, after making sure Santana wasn't in the vicinity of course, and finds a pair of Gardenias atop her supplies. Rachel had once researched the meaning of flowers and she knew that these represented secret love and she lets out a deep sigh. Presumably they were from Santana which kind of negated the secret aspect, and the pair? One was to represent Santana obviously, but the other? It couldn't represent Rachel. That would mean Santana thought the diva loved her too and she didn't think she'd done anything to give the Latino that impression.

Rachel sighs again, closes her locker and rests her forehead on the cold metal of the door. She has no idea what to do.

* * *

Quinn is thankful to find Coach Sylvester at practice on Thursday, she had been missing again on Wednesday and this close to the competition meant that she was probably up to something. Quinn just hopes the coach doesn't try to get her involved.

"Q! Front and center!" Sue demands.

"Yes Coach?"

"How's Broadway doing?"

Quinn had checked in with Brittany earlier just in case Sue asked. "She's got most of the choreography and Brittany's ready to start her on the gymnastics today."

"You do it Q, I want her taught by the best the best I have and that's you." Sue thinks for a moment, "Sandbags can take over on Wednesdays when you're running the practice." She adds.

"You're not going to be here on Wednesdays Coach?" Quinn asks.

"That's none of your business Q, now move!"

* * *

When Quinn catches Rachel for the fifth time in a row for a relatively simple flip, she decides it's time for a break.

"Let's take five" she says and heads over to their towels and water.

They sit on the bench and drink from their water bottles for a little while staring off into the distance.

"What's on your mind Rachel?" Quinn asks.

"Nothing" Rachel replies unusually briefly.

There's a few moments pause before Quinn speaks up again.

"There is something Rachel and its distracting you." She says, "You can either tell me and I'll help if I can, or you need to put it out of your mind because being distracted when doing these moves could end up with someone getting hurt, and that someone would usually be you."

Rachel sighs, "It's embarrassing…"

"You can trust me Rach, I won't tell anyone." Quinn says.

"It's just…" Rachel swallows, "Do you think Santana likes me?"

"I don't think Santana likes anyone except Brittany, even me. She tolerates you which is certainly an improvement from before." Quinn says.

"I think she's been flirting with me" Rachel blurts out.

Rachel tells Quinn the whole story, the texts, the notes, the pet name and even the hugging and kissing.

"But I don't understand why," she finishes, "After all, she has Brittany and I'm pretty sure those two are madly in love"

"Oh! My! God!" Quinn declares when Rachel mentions Brittany's name.

"What? Do you know something I don't? You have to tell me Quinn, you can't keep it from me!" Rachel demands.

"Do you remember what Brittany said the first day you came in to Glee practice in your uniform?"

Rachel thinks for a while, "No, I don't think I heard her say anything."

"Well I was sitting right next to her and Santana" Quinn says, "And I'm pretty sure she said Santana wanted to have a threesome. You, her and Brittany."

There's silence and Quinn turns to see Rachel staring at her, mouth agape and eyes wide. She watches as Rachel's jaw starts working up and down but there's still no sound, until…

"She. Said. WHAT?!"

The last word is shouted out and both girls automatically looking around to see if anyone heard.

"I'm pretty sure that's what she said." Quinn nods.

"Well, I supposed that explains everything. She must know I wouldn't just sleep with her so she's trying to woo me." Rachel says, "And now I have to find a way to tell her I'm not into that."

"Yeah" Quinn agrees, "I guess a threesome with them would be a little daunting."

"What?" Rachel asks, "Oh the threesome. Yes, I don't think I'd be in to that either."

'Either?' Quinn thinks, 'what can she not be in to if she wasn't talking about the threesome? Oh wait.'

"I thought you said you had a crush on a girl?" Quinn asks hesitantly.

Rachel looks at her in surprise for a moment, then remembers the 'I have never' game, "Yes" she sighs, "Her name was Kirsty, she was in my ballet class when I was five."

Quinn suddenly feels like she's been smacked in the stomach, the breath has been knocked out of her and she feels like she's going to be sick.

"I think we're done here for today." She said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

She dashes out to the locker room, grabs her stuff and without even stopping for a shower she races out to her car.

* * *

**Authors Note 2:** The point I'm trying to get across is that, although the two girls have some feelings for each other, Quinn a bit more than Rachel at this point, neither of them have put two and two together and come up with four yet so they haven't realized what those feelings mean. Is that showing through or am I totally missing the target?


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors Note:** Thanks to everyone for the feedback from chapter 10, I think I've got you more or less where I want you at least regarding Quinn, more surprises later and another authors note at the end of this chapter.

If I had been naming chapters, this would have been called "Revelations", hope you enjoy.

* * *

When Santana realized Quinn had left her to wrap Thursday's practice up without warning she was pissed and had every intention of giving the blonde a piece of her mind the next day. When she failed to turn up for classes on Friday, Santana's annoyance turned to concern. She couldn't remember the last time the blonde hadn't shown up without a good reason, even when she was pregnant her attendance had been near perfect. Worse calls from Santana and Brittany had gone unanswered and texts were never returned. So when school let out for the day, the pair skipped Glee and headed over to Quinn's house where they find Quinn's car parked, somewhat haphazardly, in the driveway.

It took ten minutes of pounding on the door and Santana's cursing, especially when Brittany started to get really worried and upset about Quinn, before the door was swung open by a tired and rumpled looking Quinn.

"Jesus Q" Santana said, "You look like shit."

As she pushes past the blonde, dragging Brittany by the hand into the living room with her, she hears Quinn mumble, "Well shit Santana; don't pull any punches."

After a few moments they hear the front door shut and Quinn shuffles into the room. Santana and Brittany have already made themselves comfortable on their favourite couch so Quinn settles down on one of the chairs.

"So what do you want?" she asks.

"We were worried about you" Brittany says.

"Well first I was pissed at you when you left me holding the can at practice yesterday" Santana corrects, "but yeah, I got worried when you didn't show up today. So what's got you so fucked up Q?"

"It's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing" Santana rebuts, "especially when you skip school and look like you were still in bed at gone five in the afternoon."

Quinn shrugs and says nothing, she sits staring at the floor and playing with her fingers. Santana knows this mood, Quinn has something to say but she doesn't know how and she's trying to figure it out. If it were anyone else she'd already have lashed out and stalked away but Quinn and Santana don't do that to each other anymore, so they wait.

"You need to quit going after Rachel" Quinn finally says. She opens her mouth to say more but Santana interrupts.

"Is that what this is about?" Santana asks in disbelief.

"She told me what you've been doing and its freaking her out" Quinn says, ignoring Santana's interruption, "You're going to scare her off before Sectionals and Sue will go nuts if that happens."

"Damn Q, what has Coach said to you that's got you so worked up about that?" Santana asks.

"Nothing"

"Well you don't need to worry; no one can resist Auntie Tana's charm" she says confidently.

"You don't even care about her!" Quinn doesn't realize she's shot to her feet and is yelling at Santana, "She just another damn notch in your bedpost isn't she? You're fucking with her feelings just so you can get her in your bed!"

Santana looks like she's about to start shouting herself, until Brittany's soft voice interrupts.

"But you like her, don't you Q?" she asks.

Santana turns to look at Brittany, her mouth hanging open when she realizes what Brittany is implying. Quinn doesn't get the message though.

"Of course I do, once you get past the diva attitude and the weird sweaters, she's likeable enough."

"No, I mean you _like_ like her." Brittany states, it's not a question.

"I don't know what you mean" Quinn says, deflating back into her chair.

"Don't lie to us Q," Santana demands, "Britt is never wrong and you know it, you really do like her don't you?"

"Fine! Yes, I do _like_ like her." She declares.

Santana is staring at Quinn in shock, she'd had no idea that Quinn even liked the girl never mind actually had feelings for her. But suddenly a lot of things made a lot more sense, the way she'd been really nervous around the diva recently, the times Santana had caught Quinn staring or obviously not looking at her, heck even the two years of torture that had been Rachel's school life before joining Cheerios when Quinn had given the girl way too much attention for someone she was supposed to hate.

"But it doesn't matter." The blonde adds.

"Why?" Asks Santana

"Because she's straight."

"She told you that?"

"Indirectly" Quinn nods, "she said she wasn't interested in girls."

Santana turns and looks questioningly at Brittany.

"Bisexual" Brittany states assuredly.

"What?" Quinn asks confused.

"Rachel, she's bisexual" Brittany says.

Quinn looks back and forth between the two of them hope filling her chest for the first time since the conversation she had with Rachel, "She told you?"

"Nope" Santana replies, "Like I said, Britts knows this stuff, don't ask me how but she does. She told me you were gay a year ago."

Quinn shoots up from her chair. "I'm not gay!" she shouts and moves to storm past Santana and head upstairs to her room but her progress is stalled when Santana's hand closes around her wrist.

"Q, you just admitted to having feelings for another girl, you're not exactly straight either." Santana reasons, "It's nothing to be afraid of."

Quinn opens her mouth to reply but only emits a squeak. She shakes her head violently and pulls herself free from Santana's grip. She backs away, her mouth still working but apparently unable to say anything, then turns and charges upstairs to her room slamming the door behind her. The click of the lock turning echoes loudly through the house.

Santana watches her go, shaking her head sadly.

"What now?" Brittany asks after a moment.

"We help Quinn accept herself, then we help her get her girl" Santana says with certainty.

Brittany bobs her head for a few moments, thinking.

"I thought you wanted us to have Rachel?" She asks

Santana shrugs, "She'll make Quinn happy, that's more important."

Santana reaches out and takes Brittany's hand leading her to the front door, "Come on Britt, we have some planning to do and I needs to get my mac on first."

* * *

Quinn clicks the lock on her door shut and slumps against it. Gay? Was she really Gay? Her denial to Santana had been automatic, borne of years of indoctrination of her father's beliefs. She knew she had feelings for Rachel; she wanted to be with her as much as possible, to touch her, to hold her. The kiss they had shared and the feeling of waking up with the diva draped over her had haunted her dreams for the last week. But as weird as it sounded, she's never actually considered what those feelings meant.

Did it matter? If Rachel was straight anyway Quinn could never be more than her friend and Quinn wasn't sure she could do that. Brittany thought Rachel was bisexual so that would at least give Quinn a chance, a chance she was quite willing to admit she wanted, but was Brittany right? Quinn knew the other blonde had an awesome ability to read other people as easily as most would read a book, so there was a real possibility.

But Gay? Bisexual maybe? But then she'd never really been into Finn, he'd been more of a status symbol, or Puck who's just been a mistake. She'd never really felt any attraction to other girls though, sure she'd thought some were pretty and admired others but she couldn't think of another that she'd been attracted to. Maybe she was just Berry-sexual. She decides pretty quickly to not mention that option to Santana because she's pretty sure the Latino would have a field day with it.

And what would her mother say? Russel didn't matter directly since her mother had divorced him after he'd kicked Quinn out for getting pregnant, but her mother had lived under Russel's influence for long enough and she had done nothing when he'd kicked Quinn out, so how would she react to Quinn being anything other than straight?

Quinn spent hours sitting against the foot of her door, knees pulled up to her chest, with these thoughts running through her head. Finally she crawls in to bed to try and get some sleep and she dreamt dreams of Rachel.

* * *

Quinn spends much of Saturday thinking about the same things, she only left her room to eat but that didn't really matter since her mother was away for the weekend, again. Late at night she decides that she really needs to talk to someone about it and the only option she had for that right now was Santana. She sends off a text inviting the Latino and her girlfriend to come over and spend the next day by the pool, the forecast claimed it was going to be nice.

The front door bell chimes as Quinn finishes getting changed into her bikini so she heads downstairs expecting to open the door to Santana and Brittany. Except when she does open the door she finds Rachel.

"Oh, Hi Rachel" She says surprised

"Hi Quinn"

After a few moments of awkward silence Rachel adds, "Santana called and said you were having a pool party for some of the glee girls and invited me over. I can go though, if you…"

"No, no, that's ok, come in." Quinn says standing back from the door, "You're just the first to arrive. Can I get you a drink?"

A few minutes later Santana and Brittany arrive and, drinks in hand, they all head out to the pool. While Santana and Quinn settle themselves on the sun loungers, Brittany drags a not unwilling Rachel off to dive in to the pool. Quinn swallows as she watches Rachel pull off the light dress she was wearing revealing a very small bikini underneath and dives into the pool.

After a few minutes Santana breaks the amicable silence. "How are you doing Quinn?"

"I'm ok" she replies.

"Still not gay?"

"I don't know how to label it at the moment, or if I even want to." Quinn says quietly.

Santana nods and they lapse into silence again.

"How did you know you were gay?" Quinn asks suddenly, blushing as she realises how rude the question sounded.

"I'm not the best person to answer that Q" Santana replies, "It took me ten years of being in love with my soulmate before I got it through my thick skull."

"Soulmate?"

"Yeah" Santana nods gazing across the pool at Brittany. "Brittany loves everybody, it's who she is. I guess I'm just lucky she's in love with me."

The giggles of the girls in the pool break the silence as Santana and Quinn watch them splashing around.

"You can talk to me you know." Santana says carefully.

And that was all it took for Quinn to start talking.

"I can't stop thinking about her. When I get up in the morning I just want to see her and as soon as she's gone all I can think about is when I'll see her next. When I'm with her she makes me feel… things I just don't fully understand." She sighs. "Just seeing her makes my heart race and touching her feels like electricity. Her skin is so soft; it's like nothing I've felt before. And the dreams, oh God the dreams, I never knew you could come from just having a dream."

"You're having sex dreams about her?" Santana asks bluntly.

"Yes" Quinn answers without embarrassment, "But not just that, I've dreamt of a life with her. For the first time I can see myself spending my life with someone, going to university together, settling down, having children", her voice breaks a little on the last word, "everything. And I've never had that with Finn or anyone else."

"Are you ready for the fall out?" Santana asks, "If you get her, things will change. You know how small minded people around here and at school can be."

"If I waited until I was totally ready, I'd be waiting forever."

They pause again, still watching the pair in the pool.

"I'm proud of you Q" Santana says, "With your upbringing I would have thought you'd be freaking out about now. Avoiding her or ignoring her or just making her life hell and denying the truth."

"I guess I did, freak out I mean. I haven't really slept the last few nights, I can't stop thinking."

Santana nods, "There's a lot to think about."

"But last night, well I figured my two best friends are gay and their happy. Right?"

Santana nods, "Very"

"And you don't become gay; you just are gay or are not. I was brought up to believe God made me, so if he did and I'm gay, He must love me as much as anyone who's straight, right? Otherwise, what's the point?"

"So what do I do now?" Quinn asks.

"The way I see it you have two choices." Santana replies. "First you can ignore your feelings, find some guy you can pretend to love, settle down, pop out two point five children and wonder for the rest of your life what could have been." She pauses, "Or you can go get your girl and find out."

A lengthy silence falls between the two.

"I want to find out" Quinn says quietly.

Santana nods and there's short pause.

"Let's go get your girl."

* * *

**Authors Note 2:** A number of you were worried about one or both of the suggested threesomes or even a foursome happening, hopefully you get from this chapter that that isn't going to happen. So now were on to Faberry and Quinn going to get her girl. I doubt that task will be easy though, we'll have to wait and see...


	12. Chapter 12

**Authors Note:** This is a continuation of the same day as Chapter 11, no more than a few minutes have passed between the end of that chapter and the start of this.

* * *

"So why exactly did you invite Rachel over?" Asks Quinn

"Visual aid" Santana replies. When Quinn just looks at her blankly Santana continues, "I thought seeing her would help you get your shit together Q. How was I to know you'd get your head straight so quickly, if you'll excuse my choice of words" she chuckles.

"So what do I do now?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"You do nothing Quinn. Now you've got your head sorted just relax, enjoy the sun and have fun in the pool. You've spent the last couple of days stressing your ass off and you've school tomorrow, so right now you relax."

"I just can't sit here and do nothing! She's right there…"

"What are you going to do Quinn? Go over there and declare your undying love to the girl who you tormented for the best part of the last two years? The girl who thinks we only tolerate her because we need her for Cheerios! The girl whose friendship, never mind anything else, you've turned down multiple times and who you didn't stop the jocks and other Cheerios slushying at the start of the year! What exactly do you think she'll say to that?"

After a moment's thought, Quinn hangs her head, "OK, I get your point. What do I do?"

"Right now we relax, later we plan."

Quinn looked at Santana uncertainly for a few moments, then stood up from her lounger and dove into the pool.

* * *

Seeing Quinn dive in the pool, Rachel excuses herself from Brittany and heads over to Santana to talk.

"Santana, there's something I need to talk to you about." She says.

"Amazingly you're in my sun midget; sit your ass down if you must, but move."

Rachel sits on the previously vacated lounger and starts to talk, "Quinn told me of your plans and while I must admit that I'm flattered by your desire for me and I'm somewhat curious as to what both lesbian sex and a threesome would involve, I must refuse your advances and inform you that I do not…"

"Wow, slow down midget, just get to the point, I don't need war and peace."

"I'm not interested in a threesome with you and Brittany." Rachel says blushing slightly.

"Fine Berry, say no more. No really, please say no more." Santana says when Rachel opens her mouth to speak, "We'll leave you alone."

When Rachel just looks at Santana for a while, Santana demands "What?"

"I am just somewhat surprised that you would acquiesce so easily, I was under the impression that you didn't give up very easily when you had fixated on something you wanted."

"Look, Quinn told me how… uncomfortable you were with the idea. I may do a lot of things, but I'm not about to force someone in to bed when they don't want it, ok? So me and Britts will get our fun somewhere else."

"Not Quinn!" Rachel blurts

"Quinn? Ewww… Wait, where did that come from?" asks Santana

Santana watches Rachel turn a little redder with a smirk.

"And midget, where the hell did you get an argyle bikini? Because seriously, that shit needs to be burned down."

* * *

Quinn has reached the other side of the pool and is sitting with Brittany looking back over to Santana and Rachel on the loungers.

"Should I be worried about her?" She asks Brittany

Brittany looks up at the other pair, "No, she's doing 'Honesty' and 'Friendship', nothing to worry about."

"What?" Quinn asks confused.

Brittany stares into the distance for a while before answering, "You know how San says I can read people like a book?" she asks. When Q nods she continues, "Well, some people's books are easy like 'Cat in the Hat'. Some people's books are hard, with lots of long words and are difficult to understand. Most fall in between, some bits are hard to understand and others are easy."

"And Santana?" Quinn asks

"Santana is one of those billboards on the interstate; you know the ones with six foot high letters that you can read when you're doing 70? I can't help but read her. It's how I knew."

"Knew?"

"That she was worth waiting for. Even when she didn't know herself, or was hiding it or wasn't ready to accept it, I knew that she loved me and if I just gave her time, she'd make me the luckiest girl on the planet." Brittany says.

"She says she's lucky that you love her."

"Well she's wrong, I don't know how not to love her. I'd have waited till the end of time for her."

* * *

"I thought you said this was a get together for the Glee girls." Rachel states

"I said for some of the Glee girls. Are we not some of the Glee girls?" Santana replies.

"True, but I thought Tina or Mercedes would be here, why just me?"

"Are Britt and I nobody now?"

"You know what I mean; the three of you are always together, the Unholy Trinity. I was just wondering why I was tagging along today."

"I'm about to tell you something and I swear to God, if you repeat it to anyone, and I mean anyone, I will end you, got it?" Santana says.

Rachel nods after a moment, "OK."

"Quinn doesn't have as many friends, real friends I mean, as you might think. In fact apart from Brittany and me, you're about the only person that really cared about her during babygate. Sure Finn and then Puck gave her a place to stay, but that was out of obligation more than anything else. And her and Mercedes seem to have drifted apart since Quinn moved home. I just figured if I could get you in the same room, or around the same pool I guess, you might be able to forgive each other for everything and become friends."

"What about the other Cheerios?" Rachel asks.

"Would you consider them true friends?" Santana asks, when Rachel shakes her head she continues, "No, neither does Quinn. They dropped her like a hot rock when she got pregnant and that really hurt her. That's one of the reasons I'm ok with her being head Cheerio again, so she can remind them exactly where she belongs."

"You kind of love her, don't you?" Rachel asks.

"Yeah, like she was my own sister." Santana replies, "And if you tell anyone I said that, I will ends you."

"I still don't see why she'd want to be friends with me; she's made it clear what she thought of my fathers and me in the past"

Santana sighs, "Have you ever met her father?"

"No"

"Think yourself lucky, he's a grade A bigot about a lot of things." Santana says. "So let me give you an example, you were brought up by a couple of open minded guys. I guess I'm safe in assuming that they taught you to be open minded and accepting of others right?"

Rachel nods.

"So how difficult would you find it to hate a homosexual couple just because they are gay?"

"I could never do that, it's not right!" declares Rachel, "Someone being gay isn't an excuse to hate them"

"True, and that's how you were brought up. Now imagine you were brought up by someone who spent all their time telling you how homosexuals were deviants, that they were sinners who'd go straight to hell and they shouldn't be tolerated and as a kid you don't know any different, it's your father that's telling you this stuff so it's got to be right, right? Imagine how difficult it would be to be nice to a girl whose fathers you've heard your father rant about like that. Would you honestly be able to do it?"

Rachel stares off into the distance for a while, "No, probably not. But what about you and Brittany? Quinn always got along with you."

"Her father didn't know about Brittany and me; he thought we were all just friends so he treated us ok. If he'd known, Quinn would probably have been banned from having anything to do with is."

"And just because he's gone, Quinn is different?" Rachel asks.

"That helps, but that's not the only reason." Santana says, "You know she stayed with Mercedes until her mother kicked her father out right? Have you met Mercedes family?"

"Her mother once, she seemed nice."

"She is; they all are. For the first time Quinn got to see what a real family was like. They took her in with open arms and made her welcome, no judgment, no condemnation, just acceptance and love. She went to Mercedes church you know. Can you imagine what her upbringing told her to expect? An unmarried pregnant teenage girl who'd been kicked out by her religious family?"

Rachel nods sadly.

"She came over to my place afterwards and cried for five straight hours, not because they judged her or anything, but because they didn't. They accepted her for who she was just like Mercedes family did. She said she felt more loved by complete strangers in those two hours then she ever did from her parents."

After a few moments Santana continues, "That sort of thing changes you Rachel; she's not the same person she was before. She doesn't know how to show it I'll grant, and occasionally she falls back into bad habits, but she has changed for the better. She doesn't know how to ask for your forgiveness and I think she thinks she doesn't deserve it either, in the end that choice is yours. But if you ask me, I'd say she deserves at least another chance."

"What about you? Why are you being so nice to me? You haven't called me RuPaul or manhands or treasure trail since I joined the Cheerios" Rachel asks.

"You noticed that huh?" Santana asks, at Rachel's nod she continues, "Initially it was just because you were on the Cheerios, we might argue and Quinn and I might boss the others about, but we do show each other a certain amount of respect. But as I said, Quinn's like a sister to me and I think you could be a good friend for her and she could be a good friend for you, if you can both get over your history. That's why."

* * *

Rachel headed home just before dinner time since she always had dinner with her fathers on a Sunday night and left Quinn, Brittany and Santana to settle down in front of the TV to watch a movie.

"I can't believe she was here almost all day and I did nothing…" Quinn complains.

"It would have been a bad idea; we only just got the threesome thing behind us so anything you'd have tried today would have seemed suspicious." Santana says.

Quinn nods, "I suppose so."

"And anyway" Santana adds, "you did do something."

"What?"

"You started to become her friend. That's the first step Quinn, friends first and then who knows?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Authors Note:** This chapter is mainly setting a few things up for later chapters, so its not as riveting as others but it is important. When you get to the end, maybe you can PM me with song suggestions.

* * *

Monday morning rolls around and Quinn finds Santana and Brittany by their lockers in the school. She never knew how, but they always seemed to have lockers next to each other despite the fact that they are supposedly assigned in alphabetical order. In fact, she realizes, their lockers aren't far from her or Rachel's either. She glances down the row, expecting to see the petite brunette at her locker, but is disappointed to find her not there.

"So remind me what the point of this is?" She asks Santana.

"Well, good morning to you too Q." Santana says

"Hi Q!" Brittany adds, bubbly as always

"Hi San, Hi Britt" Quinn sighs

"The point" Santana says, "is to get Berry's friendship before you try to get in her spankies."

"No need to be crude San"

"Just keeping it real Q, if you want to be more discreet you really should stop staring at her ass as much. I'm surprised that bikini didn't have a hole burned it in yesterday. God knows how she hasn't caught you…"

"Um, she has." Quinn admitted blushing, "but she hasn't said anything."

"Promising" replies Santana

If you discounted Cheerio's practice, when Quinn was supposed to be watching Rachel, and at the pool the previous day, the last time Rachel caught Quinn staring had been at Glee practice before lunch on Thursday. Quinn had walked in the room to find Rachel leaning on the piano, the rear panels of her skirt had somehow become thrown up leaving her shapely spankies-clad ass right in Quinn's eyesight. Quinn had lost the ability to walk, swallow and even breathe at the sight. She was left standing in the doorway almost drooling until Rachel has turned around and caught her looking. Once she had been able to drag her eyes up to meet Rachel's, she'd found a playful glint in the diva's eyes and a knowing smirk on her lips.

"I don't know if I want to kill or thank whoever designed these uniforms" Quinn muses.

"It's all about the teasing and not…"

"Don't" Quinn interrupts, "even finish that sentence."

"But I hear you Q, the difference between me and you is I get to see the spankies come off" Santana says, smirking and earning a playful slap on the arm from Brittany and an eye roll from Quinn.

"The point Santana?"

"Right, the point is to become Rachel's friend right? So what did we agree yesterday?"

"That whenever there's something the three of us would normally do together, I invite Rach." Quinn says.

"Right. So we're going to see that new movie on Friday and…?"

"And I'll invite Rach." Quinn replies. The blonde is a little nervous about inviting her, even though it's not a date and they will all be going as friends, she can't help worry about the possibility that Rachel will say no. "Can't you do it?"

"No Q, if Britt or I invite her she might get the wrong idea and not come."

"OK fine" Quinn huffs looking over towards Rachel's locker, "Where is she anyway?"

"Don't know" says Santana, "Haven't seen her this morning. Britt?"

Brittany pulls her head out of her locker long enough to shrug before diving back in. A few moments later Tina comes dashing up to the three of them.

"Quinn, Rachel's been cornered by some senor Cheerios near the auditorium, she doesn't look happy."

Santana and Quinn throw each other a look before rushing off to find the diva, tossing a "Thanks Tina" behind them.

* * *

"I don't care what you think is normal or appropriate" Rachel's voice rings clear over the hubbub, "I am not going to throw that in someone's face just for the 'fun' of it."

A listener could almost hear the quotes around fun. Rachel is stood with her back against the well in the corridor outside the auditorium and has four other Cheerios surrounding her in a semicircle. The diva is holding a large slushy cup and appears to be trying to return it to one of the surrounding Cheerios.

"Listen Berry, you can toss that at someone or you can wear it yourself. Your choice" says one of them.

"And what exactly do you think the Coach would do when she finds out you slushied one of your own?" Rachel demands.

"She'll be fine" the Cheerio dismisses, "She knows the new blood needs to be put in their place once in a while."

"Coach Sylvester might be fine, Tasmine" Quinn states to the Cheerio in her frosty HBIC tone "But I won't."

Tasmine jumped and spun around, but didn't back down. "It's time she learned her place, if she wants to be one of us she has to act the part" she says.

"And who says that she has to? You?" demands Quinn, "What gives you the right to tell her what she does or does not have to do?"

"We all do it"

"No we do not" Quinn snaps, "and you know it, Brittany has never slushied anyone and if Rachel doesn't want to, she doesn't have to either."

"It's time she proved she was one of the team." Tasmine says.

"All the work she's been putting in has proven she's part of the team." Quinn states, "The trust she puts in us all to catch her proves she's part of the team. Throwing a slushy in someone's face would only prove she's as petty as the rest of us. If you push this, she'll be more of the team than you are, all of you" Quinn states.

"You'd pick her over us?"

"I need Rachel and I don't need you. I've got a dozen girls willing and able to take over your spots but I've no one else able to take hers. So here's your choice, you can leave Rachel alone and stay on the squad or you can keep hassling her and lose your spot. So what's it going to be Tasmine? How much do you need that scholarship for collage?"

Tasmine glanced at her compatriots before spinning on her heal, grabbing the slushy from Rachel and stalking away followed by the other three that had been surrounding Rachel.

"And the rest of the Glee club is of limits too now!" Quinn calls after them, "If I hear of them getting slushied, it'll be on your head."

Quinn and Santana watches them go for a moment before turning back to Rachel.

"You OK Rach?" Quinn asks.

"Yes, thanks to you Quinn. I've been on the receiving end of those slushies far too often to be willing to throw one at anyone else."

Both Quinn and Santana cringe at Rachel's statement.

"Yeah, I don't know if I ever said sorry about that" Quinn says rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

"It's OK Quinn, It's behind us now." Rachel says reaching out to squeeze Quinn's forearm causing sparks to travel down her arm.

They stand for a moment before Santana coughs and says she's going to find Brittany. As she passes Quinn she nudges her and whispers "Now would be a good time."

Quinn watches Santana go then turns to Rachel.

"So, Santana, Brittany and I are going to see the new horror movie that's out on Friday, I was wondering if you'd like to come with me… err, with us." Quinn asks awkwardly.

"Brittany likes horror movies?" Rachel asks surprised.

"Santana likes horror movies, Brittany likes to make out in the back row." Quinn answers.

"And Quinn gets left to feel like a third wheel?" Rachel observes.

"Err, yeah."

"Sure Quinn, I'd love to go with you… with all of you I mean" Rachel says with an amused tone.

"Great, so I'll pick you up at 8 on Friday?"

"Sounds good"

"I'll see you later then, I'd better get to class." Quinn says and turns to head down the corridor.

Rachel watches her for a moment then has an idea, "Quinn!" she calls catching up with the other girl. "My fathers are away this weekend so I'm home alone from Friday. How would the three of you like to come back to my place after the movie and have a sleep over? I'm not a big fan of horror movies and it would be nice to have some company afterwards."

"Sure" Quinn agrees happily, "That's a great idea, I'll let Santana and Brittany know."

"Great" enthuses Rachel, "See you later".

Rachel gives Quinn a hug before rushing off to her class, leaving a surprised Quinn behind her.

* * *

Monday went by quickly for both Rachel and Quinn and soon it was time for Glee club. When Quinn entered the room she found Rachel sitting alone in the front row as she had been since her break up with Finn. Normally Quinn sat at the back with Santana and Brittany, but Quinn paused as crossed the room and glanced between Santana and Rachel. Santana caught Quinn's eye and glanced at Rachel before nodding and, with a small nod in return, Quinn took a seat next to Rachel.

"Hi Rach"

"Hello Quinn, how has your Monday been so far?" Rachel asks.

"Good so far thanks, yours?"

"The same."

Quinn looks around again and sighs, "Mr Shue's late again?" she asks.

"As always" Rachel says sorting through some sheet music on her lap, "but then, why would we expect anything different?"

Quinn hadn't felt the need to sketch since she'd realized her feelings for Rachel, but right now she needed something to so with her hands to avoid her doing something inappropriate to the girl sitting right next to her. She pulled out her pad and opened it to the last sketch she had been working on. Deciding it to be complete, she went to turn to a blank page when Rachel's voice interrupted her.

"That's the photo I took, did you draw that? It's very good."

"Yes, I drew it. It's not the first time though so I've had plenty of practice. I must have drawn this hundreds of times."

Quinn had never shown the drawings to anyone else, Santana had seen them true but only because she usually sat next to Quinn and had a habit of looking over her shoulder. Usually she'd close the pad if anyone else tried to see what was in it, but given that Rachel had taken the original picture anyway she didn't feel the need.

"I didn't know you could draw."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me Rach." Quinn replies.

"Well, maybe I'll have time to find out."

Before Quinn could figure out what Rachel meant by that statement, Mr Shue arrives and begins on his lesson for the day. Quinn flips to a blank sheet in her pad and starts drawing. She finds that she's draws best when she doesn't concentrate on what she's doing, rather she lets her subconscious take over and guide her hand as she half listens to the lecture Mr Shue is giving. She hears Mr Shue say something about duets and feels a hand close around her elbow. She glances over and looks up to Rachel when she sees it's the diva's hand.

"Will you be my partner?" the brunette asks.

Quinn's mind raced as she tried to figure out what Rachel meant. Could she know how Quinn felt about her? The question was a little odd, but then that was so Rachel. The confusion must have shown on her face.

"For the duet" Rachel clarifies, "Will you sing with me?"

Quinn felt like she deflated a little when she finally understood what Rachel had asked, but at least she'd get to spend time with the diva, and probably alone too.

"Sure Rach, I'd love to." She answers.

"So we'll start after Cheerios practice, we'll go back to my place and we can look for a song." Rachel says.

"Sure Rach" Quinn says again, wondering what she got herself into she asks "What are we singing about again?"

"Weren't you listening?" Rachel asks, "It's about love."

Quinn's eyes widen in surprised and as she looks down to hide her reaction, her eyes land on the sketch taking shape in her pad. She recognizes the face looking back to her easily as belonging to Rachel and she slams the pad shut wondering what she's gotten herself into now.


	14. Chapter 14

Practice had been hell. Coach Sylvester seemed to be making up for the Wednesday's she missed by working everyone twice as hard on the other days and today she had decided they weren't good enough and made everyone, except Rachel and Brittany who were inside working on Rachel's moves, repeat the routine again and again until Sue decided she'd had enough and told them to 'get the hell off her field'.

Quinn, like many other Cheerios, sits slumped on one of the benches in the locker room staring at a point between her feet, trying to collect enough energy to go and have a shower. Quinn's view of the floor is interrupted as two wet feet appear.

"Are you ok Quinn?" Rachel asks

Quinn's eyes slowly travel up Rachel's wet legs, past her knees and up to find the bottom of the towel wrapped around her. Quinn swallows thickly as she continues to raise her eyes, very aware that all that separated her from a very naked Rachel was a single towel.

"Just a bit worn out Rach" Quinn says.

"Do you still want to come over to my place tonight to select the song got Glee club?" the diva asks, "Or do you want to leave it to another night?"

"No, it's OK, I'll be there tonight. Just let me grab a shower and change."

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

Quinn considers Rachel's offer for a moment, "Please, I don't think I'm up for driving right now. We can come back for my car later, if that's ok with you."

"Sure" Rachel agrees, "I'll be right here when you're ready."

Quinn drags herself off to the shower and can't help but imagine a towel wrapped Rachel standing before her before slowly letting the towel fall to the floor.

"Quinn, are you OK in there?" Rachel asks knocking on the door of the shower stall Quinn was using, "Everyone else has gone."

Quinn hadn't realized she'd zoned out and had just been standing there in the shower until Rachel had knocked.

"Sorry" she says, "I'm fine, I'll be out in a second."

She washes quickly and dries herself off before throwing her towel over her shoulder and heading out to her lockers. In her tired state she had forgotten again that Rachel was waiting for her so she stumbles slightly when she sees the diva sitting on a bench waiting for her. Her first instinct is to cover herself, but Rachel has probably seen anything there was to see by now anyway, so she continues to her locker, discarding her towel on the bench in passing and starts getting dressed. She sees Rachel watching her openly in the mirror stuck to the door of her locker.

"Like what you see?" she asks.

"Seems only fair that I should get a chance to stare" Rachel replies.

"At least you were dressed" Quinn points out.

"The way you look at me, it doesn't feel like it." Rachel replies making Quinn blush.

* * *

It wasn't until Rachel pulled in to her driveway that Quinn realized that not only might the diva's fathers be home, they may well be aware of how she had treated their daughter for the last few years.

"Err, are your Dads going to be home Rach?" she asks.

"They probably won't be home till around six" Rachel answers, "why?"

"I was just wondering how they would react to me…"

"If you mean will they be angry at you for having me slushied regularly and calling me names and so on, then no. They know that stuff happened but I've never had the need to name names as it were. They do know you from Glee club and Cheerios obviously and they are aware of your pregnancy, but that is all."

"Why did you never tell them?" Quinn asks, in the same circumstances she's sure she would have told her parents everything. Well, assuming they'd bother to listen.

"It wouldn't have achieved anything" Rachel says, "And besides, I thought that if somehow we managed to become friends, it would only cause more problems that it was worth."

Rachel leads the way into the house and through the living room to the kitchen, "Would you like something to eat? You must be hungry after the workout Sue gave you today?"

Quinn shakes her head, "No, I'm ok thanks" she says only to be immediately contradicted by her stomach rumbling.

Quinn, there's no need to go hungry for politeness, how about a sandwich?"

"Peanut butter and jelly?" Quinn asks

"I think we can do that"

Rachel makes them both a sandwich and they retire up to Rachel's room. Rachel sits at her desk, opens her computer and starts flipping through songs on iTunes while Quinn collapses on the bed and kicks her sneakers off.

"Rach, your bed is really comfortable." Quinn mumbles then yawns widely.

When Rachel turns to tell Quinn not to fall asleep, she finds it's already too late.

* * *

"Quinn, wake up!" Rachel shakes Quinn gently by the shoulder attempting to get her to wake up a little.

"No" mumbles Quinn, "Sleeping…"

"Quinn, you need to wake up enough at least to get changed" Rachel insists.

Quinn sits up rubbing her eyes, "What time is it?" she asks.

"Late"

"I should go home" Quinn says but is unable to gather the strength to make a movement for the door.

"No, you're sleeping here tonight, I've already called your mother." Rachel hands Quinn a pair of shorts and t-shirt, "Now put these on, they're a little large for me so they should fit you."

As Quinn starts to take off her uniform, Rachel asks "Do you want me to wait outside?"

"Why?" Quinn mumbles, "It's not like you haven't seen me naked before."

She pulls off her top and bra before putting on the t-shirt and replaces her skirt and spankies with the shorts. The shorts are very short on her and she wonders how these could be large for Rachel, but the t-shirt is big enough to make Quinn imagine Rachel disappearing under it. She giggles at the mental image and flops back onto the bed.

She feels Rachel work the covers out from underneath her and then the diva guides the blonde properly onto the bed before pulling the covers over her. After a moment the lights go out and she feels the other side of the bed dip under Rachel's weight. The last thing she feels before drifting off to sleep is the warmth of the diva's body pressing against her.

* * *

This must be what waking up in heaven must feel like Quinn decides when she comes to the next morning. Sometime during the night the two had reversed positions with Quinn becoming the big spoon with Rachel curled up in front of her. Quinn had an arm around Rachel's waist and had her hand entwined with one of Rachel's. She took a deep breath to inhale Rachel's sent, vanilla and strawberry and something she could only classify as Rachel. The blonde let herself imagine waking up like this every day and smiling she tightened her arm around the diva to pull her closer.

Quinn heard the change in the brunette's breathing that indicated she had woken up, "Morning Rach"

"Morning Quinn"

Neither girl made to move, both just happy to enjoy the moment.

"I guess I'm not the only night cuddler." Rachel giggles

"I guess not" Quinn says, "Want me to stop?"

"No."

They lay together, reality suspended for the moment, watching the digits on the clock beside the bed change until the alarm goes off. Rachel reaches out one hand and turns it off.

"You can use the shower first" the diva says, "I have to work out on my elliptical."

"OK, Thanks Rach" Quinn says.

She gives Rachel a quick kiss on the cheek before climbing out of bed and heading to the en suite, leaving a surprised looking Rachel sitting on the bed with her fingers on her cheek where Quinn had just kissed her and looking to the door that the blonde had just passed through.

* * *

It wasn't until Quinn was drying herself after the shower that she realised exactly what she had done. She stood for a few moments with her fingers on her lips looking towards the connecting door to the bedroom. She could hear Rachel's elliptical through the door so she decided that her best bet was to pretend the kiss hadn't been anything out of the ordinary.

She finishes drying herself, wraps the towel around her and takes a deep calming breath before she steps through the door into the bedroom.

"There's a fresh t-shirt and sweat pants on the bed for you" Rachel says from the elliptical machine when she sees the blonde exit the bathroom, "We can stop by your place on the way to school so you can change into a fresh uniform."

"Thanks" Quinn replies as she changes.

There is a knocking at the door and a man's voice can be heard, "Girls! Breakfast is ready when you are!"

"Thanks Dad! We'll be right down" calls Rachel.

She steps down from the exercise machine and heads towards the shower, "If you want to head down and start breakfast, I'll just grab a quick shower and be down in a moment."

Quinn heads downstairs, taking in all the pictures of Rachel and her fathers that line the walls, crosses the living room and finds two men in the kitchen that she recognises from the photos as Rachel's fathers.

"Good morning Mr Berry, um and Mr Berry."

"Ah good morning, you must be Quinn" one of the two men says, "Please I'm Leroy and that's Hiram, Mr Berry is just too confusing at this time of the morning. We have pancakes with all the fixings and Bacon, what's your pleasure?"

"Bacon? Yes Please!" Quinn says enthusiastically.

"It's good to see you up and about today" Hiram says, "I was beginning to wonder if Rachel was making you up last night" he chuckles.

"Coach Sue pushed us all hard yesterday and Rachel's bed was just too comfortable for me to stay awake." Quinn says, "I guess I kind of passed out, so much for working on out Glee project."

"Ah yes, Rachel told us you were doing a duet. A love song I think she said" Leroy asks. When Quinn nods he continues, "Any idea which song you're going to pick?"

"Not yet" Quinn admits, "That was what we were supposed to be doing last night."

"Ah well, you must have needed it" observes Hiram, "Best not to fight it and Rachel was quite happy to have someone stay over."

At that point Rachel bounces downstairs in her Cheerio's uniform and into the kitchen to grab some breakfast, "Morning Dad, Morning Daddy!"

"Morning Honey" they both respond.

"Quinn! Don't tell me you're actually eating that dead pig?" A dismayed Rachel asks, "Don't you know how bad it is for you?"

"Sorry Rach, but you'll take my bacon away over my cold, dead body" Quinn says adamantly.

"We'll have to see about that." Rachel huffs as she starts on her own breakfast.

Fifteen minutes later, with breakfast complete and after giving both of her fathers a kiss goodbye, Rachel and Quinn climb into the brunette's car and head over to Quinn's home to get a fresh uniform.

* * *

"Someone looks like she woke up on the right side of bed this morning" Santana observes, leaning on the lockers next to Quinn's and commenting on the broad smile on the blonde's face.

"It is indeed a good morning." Quinn replies.

"I think the question has to be, the right side of whose bed? Right Britt?" Santana asks.

"Yup" the bubbly blonde responds, nudging Quinn "Someone didn't sleep at home last night."

"How would you know?"

"Your mother said so when we dropped round this morning." Santana supplies, "So did you end up in Berry's bed last night?"

"Yes, but we just slept, nothing else. I pretty much passed out last night after practice." Quinn considered telling Santana about the kiss, but thought better of it.

"Yeah, that was a killer" Santana agreed. She too had only just made it to her bed before passing out. Britt, on the other hand, seemed to have endless energy.

"It was nice waking up to her in my arms again though, I could get used to that." Quinn sighs, "It turns out we're both cuddlers".

"Again?"

"Remember the party Puck threw at my place a few weeks ago?" When both Santana and Brittany nodes Quinn continues, "Well with you two busy in the guest bedroom the only place left for Rachel was in bed with me. I woke up with her pretty much on top of me the next day."

"I don't remember that, in fact I don't remember seeing Berry the next day."

"She left early and as I remember, you two were busy again in the morning."

"True" admits Santana, "That was a good night."


	15. Chapter 15

**Authors Note: **Thanks to Iza.G for suggesting Taylor Swift, I searched for her on Youtube and found the song used below which was better than the one I was going to use.

* * *

Since they had failed so miserably in getting anything done on Monday and since Rachel hated getting behind on anything, the girls decided to get together at Quinn's on Tuesday and catch up. Or rather Rachel decided to turn up at Quinn's after school and suggested they get looking. Honestly, Quinn didn't mind.

Quinn is sitting at her desk with Rachel's laptop. Rachel was lying on the bed with her feet in the air looking at Quinn's laptop, the pair having swapped to look through each other's music collections.

"What about 'The Power of Love' by Frankie Goes to Hollywood? It's a classic." Rachel suggests.

Quinn contemplates for a moment, "I'm not feeling it Rach."

They had decided that they both had to be happy with the song, neither just settling for the others suggestion. Rachel had insisted this was necessary to ensure they both performed to their best and while Quinn wasn't convinced, if they could find a song they both liked it would be a lot easier to practice. Not that spending time with Rachel would be hard anyway.

"'I Will Follow You into the Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie?"

Quinn has a look at the lyrics, "A little depressing isn't it?"

"Love songs don't need to upbeat Quinn, there are quite a few slower or, as you'd call them, depressing love songs." Rachel says.

"Still, I'd prefer to sing something more upbeat, or at least more positive. A song about following you're loved one into death is just …" Quinn trails off unable to finish the thought.

"Fair enough."

"Here we go, how about this one?" Quinn asks, pressing play on iTunes.

They listen to the song a couple of times before they both agree it's perfect, or at least it's as close to perfect as they were going to get. Then they settle down to convert the song into a duet and start practicing.

* * *

The week was a blur for both girls since school, Cheerios and practice for glee kept them both seriously busy. Rachel had joined the rest of the squad for Cheerios practice during the week as she had learned as much as she could with just Quinn or Brittany and while there had been a few falls and bumps, even Sue reluctantly admitted that Rachel's efforts were 'passable'. High praise from Sue.

They were both looking forward to the Glee, not only for a chance to perform together but for the fact that when they were done, it's the start of the weekend. Though that might be a little delayed since Mr Shue is late, again.

"Seriously, someone needs to buy Mr Shue a watch." Santana complains.

"I heard that Santana" says Mr Shue as he enters the choir room, "And my watch works fine thank you very much. So Love song duets, who wants to go first."

Brittany's bubbly energy beats even Rachel to the punch.

"OK, Brittany and Santana, take it away."

"Take what away?" Asks Brittany innocently as they head to the front of the room.

"Err" says a confused Mr Shue, "Just sing when you're ready."

Brittany and Santana perform Landslide with Puck assisting on the guitar and Quinn is pretty sure she can hear Rachel sniffing a little as they finish. Puck and Finn give a passable showing with Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars and Tina and Mercedes performed Dido's Thank You.

"Glad we went for something more upbeat now Rach?" Quinn asks.

"A wise choice Quinn." Rachel agrees.

"Nicely done Tina, Mercedes" Mr Shue says, "Now last but not least, Rachel and Quinn?"

"Thank you Mr Shue" Rachel says as they stand before the group, "We've picked a song from Taylor Swift." She nods to the band and they start.

(_Rachel_, **Quinn**, Both)  
_You're on the phone with your girlfriend ‒ she's upset,_  
_She's going off about something that you said_  
_'Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do._

**I'm in the room ‒ it's a typical Tuesday night.  
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like.  
She'll never know your story like I do.**

**But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts**  
_She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers_  
_Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find_  
**That what you're looking for has been here the whole time.**

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you.  
Been here all along, so why can't you see?  
You belong with me, You belong with me.

_Walking the streets with you and your worn out jeans_  
_I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be._  
_Laughing on a park bench thinking to myself,_  
_"Hey, isn't this easy?"_

**And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town.  
I haven't seen it in a while since she brought you down.  
You say you're fine ‒ I know you better than that.  
Hey, what you doing with a girl like that?**

**She wears high heels, I wear sneakers.**  
_She's cheer captain, and I'm on the bleachers._  
_Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find_  
**That what you're looking for has been here the whole time.**

If you could see that I'm the one who understands you,  
Been here all along, So why can't you see?  
You belong with me.

Standing by and waiting at your backdoor.  
All this time how could you not know? Baby  
You belong with me, You belong with me.

_Oh, I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night._  
_I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're 'bout to cry._  
**I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams.  
Think I know where you belong, think I know it's with me.**

Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you?  
Been here all along, so why can't you see?  
You belong with me.

Standing by and waiting at your backdoor.  
All this time how could you not know? Baby  
You belong with me, You belong with me.

You belong with me.  
Have you ever thought just maybe  
You belong with me?  
You belong with me.

At the start of the song they had been facing the rest of the group, but as people had gotten up to dance with them, they ended up singing the second half of the song to each other and at the end they are clinging on to each other and giggling, raising a few eyebrows from Kurt and Mercedes and a knowing smirk from Santana. After they were done and Mr Shue dismisses them, the pair headed out to their cars accompanied by Santana and Brittany.

"Nice choice of song Quinn" Santana says.

"Thanks."

"Better watch Finnocence though, he had that constipated 'I'm concentrating really hard' look on his face" Santana observed.

"Rachel!" Finn's call came from behind them, "Can I talk to you?"

Santana rolls her eyes, "Talk of the devil."

Rachel steps towards Finn and he starts animatedly talking to her. Quinn watches unable to hear as he talks, Rachel shakes her head and starts talking only to be interrupted by Finn. Rachel starts again only to be interrupted again until she stops her foot and starts shouting.

"Listen to me Finn! That song was not aimed at anyone, definitely not at you." Finn says something else and starts waving his arms around making Quinn worried.

"Fine Finn" Rachel exclaims, "You want me to sing you a song I will, on Monday. And this time pay attention because you seem to live in your own head recently."

Rachel turns around and marches towards the other girls. When she reaches them she puts her arm around Quinn's and drags her to the car park, Santana and Brittany following.

"What did he want?" Quinn asks.

"He thought" Rachel fumes, "that I was singing to him, the idiot. I broke up with him weeks ago and he still thinks he can 'forgive me'."

"You're going to sing to him on Monday?" Santana asks.

"Oh yes" Rachel confirms, "and this time he's going to get the message."

They reach their cars and go their separate ways, the arrangements for the movie already made. Quinn is going to pick up Rachel at 7:30 and they'll meet Santana and Brittany at the theater.

* * *

Quinn changed about a dozen times before settling on pale blue sundress with a white cardigan and matching flats. Even though they're just going as friends, Quinn can't help but feel like this is date and she wants to look good for Rachel. She packs everything she'll need into an overnight bag and heads down to the car.

She's five minutes early by the time she reaches Rachel's and, since she hates it when boys would just honk the horn, she gets out to go knock on the front door.

"Hello Quinn" Hiram says answering the door, "Rachel isn't quite ready yet, please come in."

"Thank you Mr Ber… Hiram"

Leroy appears with some suitcases and goes out to load them into the car.

"Rachel Honey" Hiram calls up the stair, "Quinn's here and your Daddy and I are leaving for the weekend!"

"I'll be right down Quinn!" Rachel calls, "Have a good time Dad, Daddy. See you on Monday. Love you!"

The Berry men take their leave and Quinn is left standing nervously in the living room. She's quite aware she shouldn't be nervous, but it's not like she can help it. Luckily Rachel chooses that time to come down the stairs.

"Hi Quinn" she says, "Wow, you look beautiful"

"Thanks" Quinn says, blushing a little at the complement, "You look great too."

Rachel is wearing black skinny jeans and a pale blue button down shirt that matches Quinn's dress. "And we match. Nice coincidence."

Quinn offers Rachel her arm, "Shall we go?"

Arm in arm, Quinn leads Rachel to the car and they head off to the theater.

* * *

They met the other two girls at the theater and, after stopping for snacks, they stake claim to seats in the back row, much to Santana's and Brittany's delight. Quinn sits in the middle with Santana and Brittany on one side and Rachel on the other.

Half way through the movie and Quinn has come to the conclusion that the director comes from the 'its worse if you never see anything' school of thought though with plenty of gore added to spice things up, it's even made her jump a few times. Santana and Brittany are oblivious and Quinn wonders why the bother paying to see a movie just to make out in the back row. At least she hopes their just making out. She's heard a few moans that she's pretty sure aren't part of the movie soundtrack.

Rachel had grabbed Quinn's hand pretty early on in the movie and hasn't let go since, which has made Quinn rather happy. She looks over at Rachel and sees her hiding behind her otherwise forgotten popcorn and just then something in the movie makes her jump and she turns and buries her face against Quinn's arm. Quinn extracts her hand and wraps her arm around the brunette's shoulders, pulling her into Quinn's body.

"Are you ok Rach?"

The only reaction Quinn gets is Rachel's head shaking back and forth slightly.

"Do you want to leave?"

Rachel nods and Quinn turns to tell Brittany and Santana know but she finds them too interested in each other to get their attention. She stands, keeping her arm around Rachel, and guides the girl out of the theatre. Once outside she takes her arm from around Rachel but the diva finds she needs some sort of human contact and takes the blondes hand in hers, making Quinn smile.

"I'm sorry about that Quinn" Rachel says shuddering, "It was just too much."

"It's ok Rach, I wasn't really watching it anyway and I'd rather be out here with you than have you force yourself to stay when you didn't want to."

"There's about 45 minutes of the movie left" Quinn observes, "Shall we go get a drink while we wait?"

Rachel nods and they head over to the café, getting some drinks and then finding a table.

"To be honest" Rachel says, "I had second thoughts about coming once I read the reviews."

"Why did you come then?" Quinn asks.

"Because you asked me to and I said yes. I don't get invited to many things with friends and I didn't want to back out."

"Rach, if you're not sure about something we're going to do, whether it's just the two of us or with Santana and Brittany, please promise me you'll tell me."

Rachel nods but Quinn continues, "I'm serious Rach, going out to do stuff is about having fun, not torturing yourself just because you want to be out with us."

"I will Quinn, I promise."

Almost an hour later Santana and Brittany appear from the direction of the theatre. After looking around for a bit they spot Quinn and Rachel and head over.

"What happened to you Quinn, too much for you" Santana asks smirking.

"Too much for Rachel" said Quinn looking at Santana meaningfully.

"Oh… Well horror isn't for everyone."

"And how much of the movie did you see?" Rachel asks smirking, "Given you seemed to spend most of it attached to Brittany's face."

"Best ninety minutes ever!" Brittany declares and they all laugh.

* * *

They head back to Rachel's and spend the rest of the night watching movies and order pizza for dinner.

"Not a musical" says Santana.

"Rach can choose what she wants." Quinn declares, "She suffered though that horror movie so you can suffer through a musical."

"Actually we just got Inception and I haven't seen it yet, how about that?" Rachel asks.

They all agree and the pizza arrives just in time for the start of the movie. As the day cools off, Rachel fetches a couple of blankets, giving one to Santana for her and Brittany and sharing the other with Quinn. They spend a few more hours with Rachel and Quinn curled up together under their blanket before they all finally decide that it's time to head upstairs to bed. Rachel directs Santana and Brittany to the guest room and turns to Quinn.

"I guess that leaves you sharing with me, I hope that's ok?"

"Sure Rach, no problem."

They take turns changing in Rachel's bathroom before climbing into bed and turning off the light.

"Quinn, would you mind holding me?" Rachel asks, "I just need to know someone's near after that movie."

They fall asleep with Rachel curled up in Quinn's arms.

* * *

Quinn wakes first, she's not entirely sure why but she always seems to when she sleeps with Rachel even though she would usually love to sleep as long as she could. She opens her eyes and finds herself looking directly at Rachel's face and she contemplates that right now, all relaxed and asleep, Rachel looks even more beautiful than normal. Their bodies are pressed tight against each other and their legs are all tangled together in a way too intimate for two people that are just supposed to be friends, but Quinn can honestly say she's never felt as comfortable as she does right at that moment.

Her eyes are drawn to the brunette's lips and she remembers the feel of them pressed against hers at the party that now seems so long ago. Quinn really wants to feel those lips against hers again and it can't hurt can it? A quick kiss, nothing too serious and they've done it before right?

Before she can think better of it, Quinn leans forward, closes her eyes and gently presses her lips against Rachel's. Just as she's about to pull away she feels Rachel's lips part and her tongue meets Rachel's in the space created. Twenty long seconds later she pulls away and rests on the pillow, her head spinning. When she finally opens her eyes she sees Rachel's brown orbs looking back at her.

"Shit."


	16. Chapter 16

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I had a plan for how Rachel would react to Quinn's kiss, but after writing Chapter 15 I found myself somewhat conflicted between that plan and Rachel being more receptive. What I've ended up with is somewhere between the two. Let me know what you think.

* * *

"Shit" Quinn says turning her head and attempts to bury her face in the pillow, pulling herself slightly away from the other girl.

"I'm sorry Rach, I shouldn't have…" Quinn trails off.

"But you did." Rachel observes.

"Yes"

"Why?"

"I like you Rach" Quinn begins, "More than…"

"No" Rachel interrupts shaking her head.

"What?" Quinn says looking confused.

"No" Rachel says again pulling herself away from Quinn and climbing out of bed, "You can't do this…"

"Rach…"

This time Quinn is interrupted by banging on the bedroom door.

"If you two are done fucking" Shouts Santana, "Brits and I want to go out for lunch. Are you coming?"

"You can use the guest shower and then you can go with Santana and Brittany, I won't be coming" Rachel says before she heads into her own en suite and locks the door behind her.

Quinn looks blankly at the door for a moment before dashing over and knocking on it, "Rach?" She can hear the shower running in the onsite but she doesn't hear a response. She bangs again and calls again "Rach? Can we at least talk?"

After a moment she hears Rachel call back "No. Not now."

Quinn turns and sits on the end of the bed and drops her head into her hands just as Santana opens the bedroom door and sticks her head in.

"Hey Q, what's going on?"

"I think I fucked up." Quinn replies sadly.

* * *

"Well, 'Not Now' is better than Never" Santana observes.

Santana had sent Quinn downstairs then both she and Brittany had attempted to talk to Rachel without success. In the end, the three girls had left to go for lunch and a war council at Breadstix. They had all ordered spaghetti and meatballs and while Brittany and Santana were munching their way through their plates of food, Quinn was sullenly picking at hers.

"I can't believe I've fucked it up already…" Quinn says shaking her head.

"I did tell you to become a friend before trying to become the girlfriend." Santana says but without the tone that would have made it an 'I told you so.'

"Why did you kiss her Q?" Asks Brittany

"She just looked so beautiful lying there" Quinn shrugs, "And I didn't think it would be a problem if I just gave her a quick peck."

"Which turned into more…?" Santana observes

"I guess she woke up."

"But she kissed you back right?" Asks Brittany, "That must mean something."

"I don't know Britt." Quinn answers

"Remind me what she said?" Santana asks

"'You can't do this…' and then you started banging on the door."

"I wonder what she meant by that." Santana muses.

Quinn sighs, "If you work it out, let me know."

Quinn pokes at her meal a bit more, she notices Santana eyeing her meatballs and she pushes the plate over to the Latina who immediately shares it with Brittany.

"So what do I do now?" Quinn asks after a few minutes silence.

"Well, I'll talk to her on Monday to see if she's going to quit Cheerios…" Santana begins.

"Oh God, you don't think she'll do that?" Quinn interrupts, dropping her head into her hands again, "Sue will kill me."

"… and try to talk her out of it if she is." Santana continues. "In the meantime, you need to give her some space before you try and talk to her again."

"If she'll ever talk to me again." Quinn sighs

"She will Q" Brittany beams, "You just have to believe."

"I'm not giving up Britt" Quinn says.

* * *

When Rachel had heard the front door shut she emerged from her bathroom and sat on the end of the bed where Quinn had been only a few moments before. She had been sure she was dreaming when she woke up to find Quinn kissing her and so she had went with the moment, but it became clear shortly after that she was very much awake and when Quinn had started talking about liking her, she had panicked and basically hidden in her bathroom.

She wasn't even sure what was going on. Was this some kind of joke? Is Quinn really gay? She'd never thought the girl was and until now Rachel had never had a hint that the blonde was even interested in the same sex. That said she never thought Quinn was the type to get pregnant until it had happened, and the whole thing about lying about the father? Maybe Rachel didn't know Quinn as well as she thought.

So a joke? That didn't make sense either unless it was some sort of complex setup for a future public outing. Rachel really couldn't understand what Quinn would get out of kiss her while she was sleeping, the blonde wouldn't have known when she was going to wake up and the only reason Rachel could come up with to explain it was that the girl wanted to kiss her.

She decided she needed to talk to someone about all this, but who could she call? Who would even listen never mind that she'd be able to trust not to let it slip to anyone else? Well there was only really one person she could talk to. As for keeping it to private, well she'd have to risk it.

She picks up her mobile and scrolls through her contacts and dials.

"Hello Kurt? I need your advice."

* * *

Rachel's plan for Monday morning was to keep her head down, move fast and avoid Quinn. Unfortunately that meant that she didn't see Santana waiting next to her locker before she walked right into her, literally.

"Ouch, oh, sorry Santana" Rachel says as she bounces off of the other girl. "If you're waiting for me to talk about Quinn, I'm afraid I don't want to talk about it."

"You'll have to talk to her eventually" Santana observes, "But I'm not here about her, yet."

"Then what?"

Santana looks the other girl up and down, "Since you're still in your uniform, I assume that you're not quitting Cheerios?"

Rachel sighs, "I made a deal with Coach Sylvester to stay at least until after sectionals and that's still a couple of weeks away, so yes, I'm not quitting."

"That's all I wanted to know."

Rachel opens her locker and spends a few moments swapping books between that and her bag. She closes her locker and turns, surprised to still find Santana leaning against the next locker.

"What?" she asks.

"She's not playing with you, you know." Santana begins.

Rachel turns and walks in the other direction but Santana follows her.

"I know you don't know her as well as I do, but she's serious about this Rachel. It's important you know that."

Rachel spins and pokes a finger at Santana, "Why Santana? Why me? Why now?"

"I don't know" Santana says honestly, "But I don't know why it's Brittany for me either, it just is. As for why now? I have to admit, and if you repeat this I will end you, but you do look good in that uniform."

"For all I know, this is all some sort of twisted plan the two of you have cooked up between you!"

"There's no plan other than to see Quinn happy and if you are it…" Santana shrugs.

Rachel opens her mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

"Look" Santana says, "If you're really not interested just look me in the eye and tell me she has no chance and I'll get her to leave you alone."

"Ha! If Quinn was serious she wouldn't stop just because you told her to!" Rachel declares.

"OK, look me in the eye and tell me you're not interested, that she doesn't have a chance, and I won't help her."

Rachel looks at Santana for a moment before shaking her head, "I need to get to class."

She turns on her heel and walks away leaving a smirking Santana standing in the hall.

* * *

Quinn had arrived slightly early to Glee practice and had sat with Santana and Brittany at what had become their usual place in the front row next to where Rachel sat. Unusually Rachel was late to practice and came in at the same time as Mr Shue. She didn't even sit down as Mr Shue spoke.

"OK, I believe Rachel has a number to start us off."

"Thank you Mr Shue. Last Friday I promised Finn that I'd sing a song for him today to let him know exactly how I feel, since simply telling him doesn't seem to suffice. I found this song while preparing the duet I sang on Friday. So Finn, this is for you, listen up."

She nods to Brad and the song starts.

_I remember when we broke up the first time_  
_Saying this is it, I've had enough, 'cause like_  
_We haven't seen each other in a month_  
_When you, said you, needed space, what?_  
_Then you come around again and say_  
_Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change_  
_Trust me, remember how that lasted for a day_  
_I say, I hate you, we break up, you call me, I love you_

_Oooh we called it off again last night_  
_But Oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you_  
_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
_You go talk to your friends talk_  
_To my friends talk to me_  
_But we are never ever ever ever getting back together_

_Like ever..._

_I'm really gonna miss you picking fights_  
_And me, falling for a screaming that I'm right_  
_And you, will hide away and find your piece of mind_  
_with some indie record that's much cooler than mine_

_Oooh you called me up again tonight_  
_But Oooh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you_  
_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
_You go talk to your friends talk_  
_To my friends talk to me_  
_But we are never ever ever ever getting back together_

_I used to think, that we, were forever ever ever_  
_And I used to say never say never_  
_Huh, he calls me up and he's like, I still love you_  
_And I'm like, I'm just, I mean this is exhausting, you know_  
_We are never getting back together, like ever_

_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
_We are never ever ever getting back together_  
_You go talk to your friends talk_  
_To my friends talk to me_  
_But we are never ever ever ever getting back together_

_We, oooh, oooh, not back together, we_  
_Oh, getting back together_

_You go talk to your friends talk_  
_And my friends talk to me_  
_But we are never ever ever ever getting back together_

The smug look on Finn's face had slowly dissolved as he heard the lyrics of the song and as it ended he stood, kicking over his chair and stalked out of the choir room.

"Well, I think that got my point across" Rachel observed dryly as she watched him go.

The rest of Glee went less eventfully. Rachel chose a seat far away from Quinn, ironically in what previously had been Quinn's normal choice of seat, and she was out the room door almost as soon as Mr Shue dismissed them.

* * *

Quinn eventually caught up with Rachel in the locker room before Cheerios practice but before she could even get a word out, Rachel had pre-empted her.

"Quinn, I have to be here for the good of the squad. I really don't want to have to deal with anything between us here, so I'd appreciate it if you would keep our relationship professional. If you think you'll have a problem with that, I will have to reconsider staying in the squad despite the arrangement I made with Coach Sylvester which I'm sure Santana has already told you about."

All Quinn could do was nod and watch as Rachel walked away.

* * *

Practice had been tiring, physically because Coach Sue was still pushing them to be better than perfect, and emotionally because every time Quinn saw Rachel she almost fell apart. Right now she's sprawled on Brittany's bed as Santana helps the other blonde with her homework.

"What am I going to do? She doesn't even want to talk to me." Quinn says.

"I told you" Santana said, "She couldn't tell me that you don't have a chance."

"That doesn't help if she won't even talk to me." Quinn had been trying to catch Rachel all day but it would have been easier to track down and capture a unicorn for Brittany. As far as Quinn could tell, Rachel had been to every class but had never been in any of the hallways between classes and she had no idea where the diva had eaten her lunch. Where ever it had been, it couldn't have been on school grounds.

And once she had caught up with her in the Cheerios locker room, the diva had made it clear she didn't want to talk about it.

"How about you sing to her?" Brittany asks, "She'll like that."

"That's a good idea" Santana agrees, "She's always singing to people, why not sing to her?"

"Sing what?" Quinn asks.

"I know just the song." Brittany declares.

* * *

Tuesday and Wednesday go past in a blur and despite continued attempts Rachel will still not talk to Quinn. So now Quinn is sitting in the choir room with the rest of the glee club waiting for Mr Shue who is, surprise surprise, late again.

Finally he appears in the doorway, "Sorry I'm late …"

"Mr Shue" Quinn interrupts standing, "I have a song I want to sing."

"Err OK" he says, "You have the floor."

Quinn stands and walks to the front of the room, she'd arranged for Puck to play the guitar along with Brad on the piano, so Puck joins her at the front of the class.

"This is for someone here, but I'm not going to say who, they'll know it's them." She nods to Puck and he starts playing.

_When I look into your eyes_  
_It's like watching the night sky_  
_Or a beautiful sunrise_  
_There's so much they hold_  
_And just like them old stars_  
_I see that you've come so far_  
_To be right where you are_  
_How old is your soul?_

_I won't give up on us_  
_Even if the skies get rough_  
_I'm giving you all my love_  
_I'm still looking up_

_And when you're needing your space_  
_To do some navigating_  
_I'll be here patiently waiting_  
_To see what you find_

_'Cause even the stars they burn_  
_Some even fall to the earth_  
_We've got a lot to learn_  
_God knows we're worth it_  
_No: I won't give up_

_I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily_  
_I'm here to stay and make the difference that I can make_  
_Our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use_  
_The tools and gifts we got, yeah, we got a lot at stake_  
_And in the end, you're still my friend at least we did intend_  
_For us to work we didn't break, we didn't burn_  
_We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in_  
_I had to learn what I've got, and what I'm not, and who I am_

_I won't give up on us_  
_Even if the skies get rough_  
_I'm giving you all my love_  
_I'm still looking up, still looking up._

_I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)_  
_God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)_  
_We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)_  
_God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)_

_I won't give up on us_  
_Even if the skies get rough_  
_I'm giving you all my love_  
_I'm still looking up_

Quinn hadn't been looking at Rachel as she sang so as she came to the end of the song she missed the diva shoot up from her seat and march over to her so the blonde was a little surprised to be dragged by the arm out of the classroom.

"What are you doing?!" demands Rachel.

"Exactly what the song says. You wouldn't talk to be for the last three days, I thought this way I could get my point across."

"In front of everyone? I don't appreciate you joking around with my feelings."

"This is no joke Rachel" Quinn assures her, "I'm deadly serious."

Rachel paces back and forth along the corridor, a thousand thoughts racing through her head and Quinn watches her pensively.

"Fine" Rachel turns to Quinn mid-step, "Fine, you want a chance, you have a chance. One chance, so don't waste it. But you have to prove you're serious."

"How?" Quinn asks

"I'll leave that to you." Rachel says as she turns and walks back into the choir room leaving Quinn with a huge smile on her face.

* * *

**Songs (in order):**

****Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Jason Mraz - I Won't Give Up


	17. Chapter 17

**Authors Note:** So I meant to say in the last chapter that this chapter wouldn't be out for a while, um, so here it is. The next chapter will probably be after new year. Merry Christmas all and Happy New Year.

* * *

"So, what happened?"

The unexpected voice behind her as she walked up to her front door made Quinn jump but it only took a moment for her to realize that it was Santana. She turns and finds the other girl standing a few feet away on the drive still in her Cheerios uniform. Quinn looks around but can't see Brittany.

"What?" She asks.

"With Rachel" Santana supplies, "She dragged you out after that song and you both had shit-eating grins on your faces when you came back."

"Both of us?" Quinn asks, the smile returning to her.

"Yeah, just like that one" Santana confirms, "So what happened?"

"Later" Quinn says, "Are you saying Rachel was smiling too."

"Like that cat that got the cream."

"What? Like she was playing with something."

"No" Santana says after a moment, "Like she was really happy. You know those smiles she get when she gets a solo?"

"Yes"

"Well, one of those, only bigger."

Quinn turns and opens the front door before stepping in and holding it open for Santana, a silent invitation for the other girl to join her. Santana enters and Quinn looks out the door again.

"Where's Brittany?"

"I dropped her at her house. She's got some cousins visiting or something." Santana supplies

"What? How did you get here so fast?"

"Fast? It's been half an hour since the end of practice, where have you been?"

Quinn had been driving home, she hadn't realized it had taken so long but it does explain some of the horn honking she'd received at some of the intersections. She must have been sitting there for a while at some of them. She shrugs and closes the door before following Santana up the stairs to her bedroom. Her mother wasn't around as always, but that didn't bother Quinn these days, she much prefers having the house to herself anyway.

Santana is lying on Quinn's bed, her knees bent and the her feet still on the floor, when the blonde enters her room, so she tosses her bag onto her desk and turns the chair in front of it around and sits looking at the other girl.

"So?" Santana asks again.

"She gave me a chance" Quinn says still with that grin on her face, "One chance and I have to prove to her I'm serious."

"She's not taking your word for it then." Santana observes.

"Do you seriously think she would?"

"No, I guess not."

They both contemplate this for a moment. Quinn had never really been dishonest to Rachel, if you ignore the while lying about Finn being the father of her baby that was, but for a long time she had been pretty mean to the little diva. She had invented the slushy facial of course, and Rachel had been the first target. She flinches at the thought, wondering how the other girl can even look at her any more. Things had improved between them during Quinn's pregnancy, but Quinn had gone right back to head bitch as soon as she had the opportunity. She hadn't ordered slushy facials for Rachel after that, but she hadn't stopped them either. The diva putting on the Cheerios uniform had done that.

"So what are you going to do?" Asked Santana

"I have no idea" Quinn says.

Santana ponders for a moment then suggests "You could announce it over the school PA system."

"I'm sure that would go down well" observes Quinn, "How would you like to be dragged out of the closet like that?" Santana nods and Quinn continues, "I don't even know if she is interested, or if she's just giving me enough rope to hang myself and announcing it like that would be enough for a dozen nooses."

"OK, so plan B." Santana says.

"Yup" Quinn agrees.

After a pause Santana asks, "What's plan B?"

"No idea, but I may need Brittany and your help."

There's a long pause and Quinn is starting to worry about what this pause could mean before Santana speaks.

"Okay, but I'll need something in return."

"What?" Quinn asks nervously.

"Let me borrow one of your sundresses."

"What?!"

"Well, Brittany has this fantasy…"

"No! No! No!" Quinn says diving into her closet, she pulls out one of her older dresses she hasn't worn in months and throws it at Santana, "I don't want to hear it, and please do not" she emphasizes the 'do not' "attempt to return it. Ever."

Santana grabs the dress and heads off leaving Quinn shaking her head and trying to get that image out of her head.

* * *

Rachel also came home to an empty house, even though she was later due to Glee and Cheerios practice. She knew her Dad was working late to meet a deadline and Daddy was working the night shift at the hospital so she wasn't surprised that the house was empty. She hums to herself as she climbs the stairs and enters her bedroom, standing for a moment before the full length mirror in the corner of the room and looking herself up and down and running her hands over the front of the uniform she wears.

She'd often thought just how much things had changed for her since she'd put on that uniform. Okay so she wouldn't call the other Cheerios friends but at least they were civil to her now and it's been weeks since the last slushy. She giggles a little as she remembers the look on Karofsky and Asimio's faces as they first saw her turn the corner in the uniform, priceless.

She should be tired, Cheerios practice had been intense as always, and while she was feeling a little stiff she didn't feel tired at all but she throws herself down on the bed mostly to stretch out the kinks.

"I could do with one of Quinn's massages right about now" she muses.

She could call and invite Quinn over, if she came that would help to prove she was serious but was it going too far right now? She's humming a tune again and it takes her a moment to realize it's the song that Quinn sang to her a few hours again. Sang to her and for her in public and the grin she was wearing throughout most of Cheerio's practice was back.

Quinn hadn't mentioned the diva's name but she had known as soon as she recognized the song that it was for her. And she understood why Quinn hadn't mentioned her name, Quinn wouldn't have known if Rachel wanted to be out if she was interested, so even that little consideration showed the thought Quinn had put into it. And the song itself was perfect, the night sky, stars falling to earth, even the references to gifts and having a lot at stake. Rachel couldn't have picked a more perfect song if she'd tried.

She had debated with herself ever since Quinn had first kissed her about getting into a relationship with the blonde, well to be honest she'd been thinking about it off and on since she'd woken up naked in Quinn's bed and in the blonde's arms, but she'd always considered it a fantasy until that kiss. Which, come to think about it, had also been in bed though this time her own. Well, at least Quinn hadn't tried to climb into her room and sing to her in bed so at least one of their memorable moments hadn't involved a bed.

So a relationship with Quinn? The thought scared her a little bit, not only because of their history but because she was a girl. The diva had offered Quinn her friendship when the blonde had been pregnant and so she should have put their joint past behind her, but forgiven is easier than forgotten and there was plenty between them in the past so Rachel couldn't help but worry that there was some sort of long term plan that she was going to come off worst from but she felt she had to take that chance and getting Quinn to prove how serious she was should help.

And Quinn was attractive; Rachel had to admit to a certain amount of appreciation for the female form. Being brought up had taught her well that anything was possible and there was nothing wrong with being attracted to other girls and Rachel always had been attracted to both girls and boys even if she had never acted on those feelings or even shown them. But she had always thought that the appropriate time to explore any feelings like that would be a collage and preferably not in little-town Ohio where such things were generally frowned on.

Her mobile phone rings and she accepts the incoming call.

"Well?"

"Well hello to you too Kurt" Rachel says.

"Hello Rachel, well?" she can almost see his eyes roll as he responds.

"Well what?"

"She sang to you, didn't she?" Kurt asks.

"I thought that much would have been obvious to you given our last discussion on the matter" Rachel says.

"So what happened when you dragged her out of the choir room?" Kurt asks, "Which, by the way, was totally not subtle."

"What was I supposed to do?" Rachel asks, "Just ignore her?"

"Yes, at least until you could have caught her privately later. She never mentioned you or even looked at you so no one would have known. But the dragged out the room thing has gotten tongues wagging. I've had Mercedes on the phone for the last half hour."

"You didn't tell her anything did you?" an alarmed Rachel asks.

"No, you made me promise not to remember? And do you know how much I wanted to be able to tell her?"

"Well I appreciate you not saying anything." Rachel says.

"Not going to help if you keep dragging her out of the room like that" Kurt points out, "Which brings me back to my first question, what happened?"

"I asked her why she was singing the song, she said to get her point across since I was avoiding her…"

"Which you totally were, how was lunch by the way?" Kurt interrupts.

"Not very pleasant, but to get back on point, she persuaded me to give her a chance, once chance and she has to prove she's serious."

"How's she going to do that?" Kurt asks.

"She asked the same thing, I told her to work it out herself."

"Do you think that's wise, you've no idea what she'll do?"

Rachel shrugs even though Kurt can't see her over the phone, "But if she's serious she won't do anything that I won't like or would risk her chance with me."

"Well let's hope so" Kurt agrees "But I look forward to finding out what she has up her sleeve."

"You and me both."

Just then there's a knock on the front door, so Rachel says her goodbyes to Kurt and goes downstairs to answer it.

"Quinn?" she asks surprised "I was just thinking about you" she continues then blushes, "um I mean I was thinking I could do with another massage."

She had no idea who she had been expecting to see, but it hadn't been the blonde. They were both still in their uniforms though she was well aware that they both have had plenty of time to change.

"Hi Rach, I uh, thought I should come over so we could talk" Quinn says uncertainly "But I could give you a massage if you like."

Rachel steps aside and gestures for Quinn to precede her up the stairs.

"Your fathers aren't around?"

"No" Rachel answers, "They're both working."

"Do they do that a lot? Leave you on your own I mean."

"No, Daddy does have to work nights a lot but he's on a schedule and Dad's deadline is a little unusual."

They arrive at Rachel's room and she closes the door behind them. She makes herself busy tidying the room a little, even though the place is already spotless.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she asks.

"Boundaries basically, I was talking to Santana about proving I'm serious…"

Rachel interrupts "You talked to Santana"

"Well yeah" Quinn replies, "She won't tell anyone, though Brittany knows too." She adds after a moment's pause.

"OK, go on."

"Well, Santana suggested announcing it over the PA at school" Quinn smiles at the look of horror on Rachel's face, "Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought. But I realized that I didn't know how open or not you wanted to be about… um… everything."

"What about you?" Rachel asks, "How open do you want to be?"

"Well, I don't think I'm ready to be out yet. I have no idea how my Mom would react and I don't think I'm ready to handle people at school yet."

"Well that's understandable Quinn" Rachel says, "Let's say that we'll keep things just between us for the moment, ok?"

"OK" Quinn nods.

"Now how about that massage?" Rachel asks wearing a sly grin. When Quinn nods she walks across the room removing her uniform top on the way, she stands in front of the bed with her back to Quinn and reaches behind herself to unhook her bra. She tosses it aside before lying face down on the bed and turning her head to look at Quinn.

"Well?" she asks.


	18. Chapter 18

**Authors Note:** Happy New Year all. A little angst for you all to start the new year, but trust me, it'll be worth it.

* * *

It had become something of a habit for the girls, and a personal torment for Quinn, that on the days they had Cheerios practice, Quinn would follow Rachel home, climb the stairs with her to her room, watch as the diva stripped to the waist and lay on the bed, always somehow managing to arrange the panels of her skirt so her round spankies-clad ass was all too visible, and then would massage the diva eliciting small moans and groans of pleasure from her. Quinn was seriously starting to regret coming up with the 'all about the teasing' mantra. After many such sessions, the blonde would feel the need to retreat to her own home and room before releasing some of her own tension while Rachel, ironically, would do the same.

This had been going on for a few weeks now and despite multiple requests, Rachel had not yet allowed Quinn to take her on a date. Sectionals had arrived and passed for both the Cheerios and the New Directions and both had, unsurprisingly, won their respective competitions. In fact this was the first Friday after said competitions and Puck had decided to host a combined celebration at his house. Combined "since most of the Glee girls are Cheerios anyway" he claimed, but Quinn secretly thought it was just an excuse to get a large number of the cheerleaders into his house.

Whatever the reason, Quinn was now arriving a little too late to be fashionable at the party and unfashionably alone since Rachel had refused to go with her. The party appears to have been in full swing for some time now and the front door opened to her knock, literally since whoever had last arrived hadn't shut it properly, allowing Quinn to step inside and examine her surroundings.

She notices most of the Glee kids quickly enough, the ones not on the football team or Cheerios were banded together in small groups around the rooms surrounded by the swarm of more popular kids. It seemed that most of the Cheerios had brought a date with them and a good number of the football and basketball teams were in the house too.

"That'll lower Puck's chances" thought Quinn, "He won't be happy about that."

Another habit Quinn had picked up over the last few weeks was to seek out Rachel whenever she knew the diva was going to be in the same room. Even if they didn't actually approach each other or say hello, the blonde would watch, surreptitiously she hoped, the other girl whatever she happened to be doing. On a few occasions she got so distracted by the diva that she totally missed someone speaking to her and once had even missed Coach Sylvester bellowing at her through her ever present bullhorn until Santana had nudged her.

Unable to locate Rachel in the living room, Quinn makes her way through the crowed to the kitchen where she finds the diva along with Santana and Brittany watching a game of flip-cup being hosted by Puck. It looked like Rachel had already had a few drinks as she was currently giggling all over a less than amused Santana who, on spotting Quinn's arrival, pointing the diva at her like a blonde seeking missile and pulled the trigger. Before Quinn knew what was happening, the diva was giggling all over her and at one point almost spilt her drink over Quinn.

"Ooopsy" Rachel giggled.

"Okay" Quinn said, "Someone's already had a few to drink."

"Yup" Santana agreed, "And now she's your problem."

And before Quinn could reply, Santana had dragged Brittany and Puck off to join in the next round a flip-cup declaring "We'll take on anyone and beat you all." Quinn sighs and grabs a wine cooler for herself and then another when Rachel relieves her of the first one. She looks around for somewhere to sit but her hand is grabbed by Rachel and she's dragged over to the makeshift dance floor.

"Come on, I want to dance." The diva says.

Watching a slightly tipsy Rachel attempt to dance was pretty amusing for Quinn. While sober Rachel would take pride in getting every step or move just right but tipsy Rachel was a lot freer in her movement and pretty unstable too and in the end she ended up clinging to Quinn and giggling again. Quinn feels a little awkward at first but once she realizes no one is paying them any unusual attention, she relaxes a little and enjoys herself.

The music changes and Rachel turns her back towards Quinn, the blonde doesn't hesitate to step forward, her hands on Rachel's hips to pull the diva back against her body. Rachel reaches down and pulls Quinn hands together in front of her, all four of their hands entwined before them as they continue to move with the music, both girls are lost in each other, completely oblivious to the others dancing around them.

They dance like this for some time stopping now and again only for more drinks, though Quinn decides to stick with soft drinks for now as she wants to make sure she remembers this night in the morning. Rachel excuses herself to use the bathroom so Quinn seeks some space in the kitchen, passed on the way by Brittany heading in the other direction, where she finds Santana and Puck.

"You look like you've been enjoying yourself" Santana observes.

"It's an ok party" Quinn says noncommittally.

"Uh-huh, I saw you dancing in there" Santana smiles a knowing smile and Quinn blushes.

"What's this?" Puck asks, "Has my baby mama got her eye on some new bloke?"

"Something like that" Santana smirks earning her a glare from Quinn.

"Well, who is he?" Puck asks looking around as if the person in question would present themselves.

"None of your business."

Quinn selects a soft drink for herself and watches Puck and Santana banter back and forth for a few minutes until Brittany returns.

"Who's the guy with Rachel?" Brittany asks

"There's no one with Rachel" Quinn said, "She was just going to the bathroom."

"She came out as I went in and some guy was waiting for her."

"What?" Quinn asked worried.

"Yeah" Brittany nods, "He took her by the arm and into the guest room. She didn't look too happy come to think of it."

Quinn turns on her heel and is off towards the stairs before Brittany is finished speaking, Santana and Puck following close behind. Puck grabs a couple of the more sober of his teammates and they all head upstairs as one. Quinn reaches the guest room door first but the door is locked and refuses to move despite the blondes attempts. She bangs on the door calling Rachel's name and she's sure she can hear the diva calling out for her.

She looks to Puck who motions for her to get back and takes a running jump at the door. It gives way under his attack and Quinn is through the door right behind him. Her eyes search the room and find the guy pinning a cowering Rachel against the far wall. A part of Quinn's mind observes that Brittany was right for a change; this guy was a stranger, as she charges across the room.

"Quinn!"

Rachel sounds small and scared and Quinn's heart breaks a little at the sound. As the stranger turns toward the sound of the door smashing open, her self-defence classes kick in and she uses all of her Sue Sylvester trained strength to bury her knee in the guy's groin. He doubles over and before he can even hit the ground, Quinn has stepped passed him pulled Rachel into her arms, putting her own body between him and the scared diva.

"You came, you came." Rachel says clinging on to Quinn in return.

"It's okay, you're okay" Quinn says trying to sooth the shaking girl in her arms.

The football players each take and an arm of the stranger and drag his groaning body out of the room and Puck approaches Quinn and Rachel.

"Do you want me to call the cops Rachel?" he asks.

Rachel is quiet for a moment then shakes her head, "I just want to go home."

Puck turns to leave and Santana grabs his arm.

"You're not going to let him get away with that?" she asks.

"Hell no" Puck says looking offended, "By the time we're done with him" he says indicating the other football players, "He's going to need an ambulance. No one tries that at my party."

Quinn leads Rachel out of the room, down stairs and out to her car. She's glad now that she hasn't had much to drink as she gets in the driver's seat and starts the drive to Rachel's home.

* * *

They arrive at Rachel's home and pull into the driveway. Rachel sits in the passenger seat and looks at the house for a while before turning to Quinn.

"Will you stay for the night?" she asks.

Rachel still sounds small and a little scared to Quinn, "Sure, if it's ok with your fathers."

"Their away for the weekend." She says and adds after a pause, "I don't want to be alone."

"They left you again?"

"It's a conference Daddy has to go to for work. They wanted me to go with them but I stayed to go to the party" Rachel explains as she leads the way to the house.

The diva unlocks the door and leads the way in, locking it again behind them. The two girls climb the stairs together and head to Rachel's room. The diva roots around for a while and finds a clean pair of shorts and t-shirt for Quinn to wear and the blonde takes them into the bathroom to change. Once she's changed to returns to the bedroom to find the other girl already in bed so she climbs in next to her.

"Thank you" Rachel says, "For coming when I needed you, and for staying."

Quinn really can't think of anything else to say except "Anytime."

There's quiet for a while and then there's some movement and Quinn feels the other girl curl into her side and she wraps her arms around the brunette.

"I think you can take me on a date now." Rachel mumbles as she dozes off.

That night the girls are already in each other's arms as they fall asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

**Authors note: **Thank you all for the kind reviews and encouragement, it really does make a difference to know your all enjoying the story. And now we have the day after the night before.

* * *

Once again Quinn woke first. Even if she hadn't remembered the previous night she would have known exactly where she was before opening her eyes as Rachel's intoxicating scent filled her nose and the girl herself was half curled into Quinn's side and half lying on top of her. She probably should have been uncomfortable, if not at the closeness of the other girl at least at the unusual weight on top of her body. But Quinn was not uncomfortable, the weight on top of her felt like it belonged there and she hoped she'd wake up like this many more times in the future.

She opens her eyes and looks down at the girl beside her. Rachel's head is nestled beside Quinn's neck and the brunette's hair has fallen forward and covered her face. Quinn reaches up and uses a finger to hook the loose hair over Rachel's ear revealing her face and the half-smile on her lips. Quinn figures that she won't be able to get out from under Rachel without waking her up and right now she doesn't want to disturb the diva, but that's ok because she's pretty happy exactly where she is.

About half an hour later Rachel finally stirs. The arm that has until now been around Quinn's waist moves and her hand covers her still closed eyes. She moans a little and turns her head apparently trying to hide from the dim light that fills the room.

"How much did I drink last night?" she whispers, cringing a little at the sound of her own voice.

"You had plenty while I was there" Quinn replies softly in a somewhat amused voice, "and you were already rather tipsy when I got there."

"Never again."

"Got a headache?" Quinn asks.

"Like someone was using a jackhammer in my head." Rachel cringes

"Want me to get you some painkillers?"

"Please, they're in the bathroom cabinet."

After a few moments with no movement from the brunette, Quinn reminds her that she'll have to move for the blonde to be able to get the painkillers. Rachel rolls off of Quinn with a groan and covers her eyes with her arm. Quinn heads to the bathroom and comes back in a few moments with two pills and a glass of water. She hands the pills to Rachel who puts them straight into her mouth before reaching out for the water and downing half the water and putting the glass on the bedside table.

Rachel shows no intention of getting up and Quinn stands a little awkwardly beside the bed unable to decide what to do.

"Are you going to stand there or are you coming back to bed?" Rachel asks.

The request sounded completely natural to Quinn and she slips back into the bed next to the other girl. Rachel rolls back over into her side and the two have returned to their places before Quinn got out of the bed.

"How come you don't have a hangover?" Rachel asks.

"I stuck to soft drinks for most of the night, unlike you."

"Mmmm"

They lay together that way for another twenty minutes or so before Quinn thinks to ask, "How much do you remember about last night?"

"Most of it."

"Do you know who that guy was?"

"No, never seen him before in my life. Just some jerk."

Quinn looks down at the girl beside her and notes that she doesn't seem disturbed by the events of the previous night.

"Are you ok?" she asks.

"I'm fine thanks. I just want to forget about it." Rachel asks. She pauses for a moment before asking "What happened to him?"

"Puck and some guys from the football team dealt with him."

Quinn didn't add any more, she didn't exactly know what Puck would do with the stranger, but she figured he'd need some form of medical attention afterwards. And if she really needed to find out she could ask Puck later.

"Do you remember what you said last night?" Quinn asks.

There's a pause and Quinn starts to get worried, what if Rachel didn't remember or if she didn't mean it?

"Remember what?"

Quinn swallowed nervously; suddenly she didn't feel quite as comfortable in the bed as she just had.

"About the date?"

She feels Rachel's body shake against her and she realises the girl is giggling silently.

"Rachel!"

The giggles become audible chuckles and Quinn relaxes again.

"Of course I do Quinn. I'm looking forward to it so it had better be good." Rachel says.

"Starting to feel better then?"

"Yes" Rachel confirms, "and thanks, for taking care of me last night and this morning."

"Any time Rach."

They lay there for some more time, both just happy to be so close to the other, before Rachel finally makes a move to get up.

"We should get up I suppose." She says, "You take my shower, I'll use my fathers. Towels are in the cabinet."

With the weight of the other girl gone from her side, Quinn rolls out of bed and heads towards the en suite. Without a thought she strips off her top before stepping into the bathroom and pushing the door closed behind her. Rachel sits on the side of the bed, her mouth open and her eyes trained on the door that Quinn had just gone through, the vision of the other girl's naked back fresh in her memory.

The door isn't quite shut she sees and she knows she could just walk over there, push it open and join Quinn. She closes her mouth and swallows, shakes her head and heads to the other bathroom.

* * *

Quinn takes her time in the shower, she had been tempted to walk back out of the small room and invite Rachel to join her, but she hadn't been sure that the other girl would appreciate that. So instead she takes a cold shower followed by a hot one. When she climbs out she realizes she doesn't have any clean clothes to put on and the dress she wore last night wasn't really suitable for this time of the morning, but she finds a big fluffy robe on the back of the bathroom door so she wraps herself in that.

The bedroom is empty and she can't hear anything from the door she presumes is to Rachel's father's room so she heads downstairs and follows her nose through the living room to the kitchen. She finds Rachel dressed in sweats and standing by the cooker.

"Is that bacon?" she asks.

Rachel turns from the cooker with a frying pan in her hand and adds the bacon to a plate on the table already containing fresh waffles.

"Bacon for you, fakon for Me." she says indicating the other pan, "Normally I wouldn't touch the real stuff but I'll make an exception for you." She blushes a little realizing what she's saying. "Err, since I thought you'd prefer the real thing"

"Fakon?"

"Fake bacon. It tastes the same but isn't from some poor dead animal."

"I didn't think you'd even have bacon" Quinn said around a mouthful. She was already digging into her breakfast. "Aren't you all vegans?"

"Dad is vegetarian but we can't persuade Daddy to give up meat. He loves his bacon too much and says this stuff doesn't taste the same."

Quinn spears a small piece of fakon from Rachel's plate and pops it in her mouth, chewing for a few moments. "Yeah, he's right." She says making a face.

Rachel sighs, "Well at least you tried it."

They eat in companionable silence for a while and once again Quinn thinks how she could get used to spending time like this with Rachel.

"Penny for your thoughts?" asks Rachel.

Quinn didn't really want to share her immediate thoughts with Rachel right now, so she asked something else that had been on her mind recently.

"I was wondering what you were going to do now, in the Cheerios I mean. We won sectionals and regionals are coming up and I was just wondering if you were going to stay in the squad. If I remember you were reluctant to sign up in the first place…"

"Your rambling Quinn" Rachel interrupts, "Isn't it me that usually does that?"

"Well, it's important." Quinn says looking down at the remains of her food. "You know how long it takes to train a flyer and…"

"Quinn" Rachel interrupts again. The blonde looks up at her and she asks "Who's it important to, you or Sue?"

"Both" Quinn says blushing a little. "Sue asked me to find out" She admitted, "Well, she told me to do anything to persuade you to stay"

"Anything?" Rachel asks with a smirk.

Quinn's blush turns beetroot red, "Um… well…"

"Relax Quinn, I'm just teasing." Rachel says, "And you don't need worry, I think I'll stick around for a while. Just remember you owe me one." she adds with wink causing Quinn to choke on her orange juice.

Rachel laughs and walks round the table to stand next to Quinn. She reaches out and places her hand on Quinn's bare knee giving it a squeeze and leans in to Quinn's body, her lips almost touching the other girl's ear when she whispers "You never know when you'll get lucky."

She gives the blonde's knee a squeeze and then steps away, heading out of the kitchen and towards the stairs, calling over her shoulder "And now you need some clothes. Be right back." as she disappears up them.

Quinn releases a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding since Rachel's hand had landed on her knee and turns back to the remains of her brunch. She takes a large gulp of orange juice before mumbling "That girl is going to be the end of me."

A few moments later Rachel returns with some sweatpants and a t-shirt for her.

"These are a little too big for me, so they should be ok for you." She says handing the garments over, "I don't think you'll fit any of my underwear though" she adds with a frown.

Quinn just shrugs and takes the clothes, "I'll make do."

She strips off the robe and starts stepping into the sweat pants eliciting a "Quinn!" from Rachel. She looks up and sees the other girl with her hand over her eyes.

"What? It's not like you haven't seen me naked before…"

"So you don't mind me looking then?" Rachel asks

"Feel free." Quinn grins.

Rachel lowers her hand and watches as Quinn pulls the sweat pants up her legs and over her hips. Rachel's eyes continue up Quinn's body, pausing a moment at her breasts only continuing up when the t-shirt descends to cover them. She meets Quinn's eyes and swallows.

"Hope you don't mind me going commando in your pants." Quinn says a smirk and this time its Rachel's turn to blush.

* * *

They decided to spend the day together, or rather Rachel had suggested and Quinn had jumped at the chance. They had spent the day hanging out, singing (Rachel's choice of course), playing board games and watching TV. Now Quinn was relaxing on the couch while Rachel attempted to pick a movie they could watch.

"Not a musical" Quinn says

"Why not? Musicals are just as enjoyable as any other movie."

Before Quinn can answer, her mobile phone rings. She answers and finds Santana on the other end of the line.

"Hey Q, where are you hiding all day?"

"I'm at Rachel's. We're just going to watch a movie. Why?" Quinn asks.

"OK" Santana says, "Britt and I will be there in five minutes and we'll bring the movie. Make popcorn."

Before Quinn can object, Santana has hung up, leaving the girl looking at the phone in her hand in surprise.

"Who was that?" Rachel asks.

"Santana. I think she's just invited herself and Brittany over."


	20. Chapter 20

**Authors Note:** First, to the anonymous reviewer who demanded, all in capitals, why a Jewish family would eat bacon, um... Opps, my bad, but your going to have to live with it.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to cool down after writing this. Enjoy.

* * *

Santana and Brittany finally showed up twenty minutes later with much huffing from Rachel about tardiness. "If they were going to take twenty minutes they should have said twenty minutes."

But really Rachel was quite pleased to have people over, when her fathers had called just after Santana she'd be able to say, probably for the first time ever, that she was spending the night in with some friends from school. Even after the boost in popularity from joining the Cheerios, Rachel never really had anyone over except Quinn. She had asked her Dads if they would mind the girls staying over for the night and with her assurances that it was just some close friends and not a huge party they had agreed. Now all she had to do was persuade Brittany and Santana.

Santana had brought the movies as promised and while Rachel had been dreading a bunch of horror movies, Santana had instead brought a Disney film and a number of romantic comedies. When questioned on her choice, Santana's response of "What? Brittany likes them" answered that. They put the Disney movie on first at Brittany's request and Rachel had for the first time the experience of watching Brittany watch a Disney movie. The girl seemed to know every word of the movie; she smiled at the happy bits, laughed at the funny bits and actually cried at the sad bits which made Rachel feel a little sad too. She felt like she wanted to hug the other girl, but Santana was already doing that job so instead she snuggled up on the sofa with Quinn.

When the Disney movie was over Santana put in one of the rom-coms and all four girls settle down to watch. About half an hour in, Rachel glances over to Santana and Brittany to find that the Latino had pulled the blonde into her lap and was in the middle of a pretty heavy make out session.

Rachel gave Quinn a nudge and, indicating the other girls, whispers "Do they ever actually watch the movie?"

Quinn looks over and chuckles, "Only the Disney ones from my experience."

They return to the movie but Rachel glances over again after a few minutes and she notices Santana's hand had disappeared under Brittany's skirt. The Latino's whole arm is moving back and forward in short strokes and it takes Rachel a few moments to realize exactly what she's up to. Rachel feels her face heat up and she looks away, but she's never actually seen someone having sex before and she can't help her eyes being drawn back to the pair of girls.

She watches out of the corner of her eye as Brittany suddenly buries her face in the crook of Santana's neck. The blondes body tenses and then shakes for a number of seconds, Santana's hand still working back and forward, and Rachel is sure she can hear the girl's moans over the movie soundtrack. Once Brittany's orgasm has apparently ended, Santana removes her hand from between the girl's legs and Rachel can see the Latino's fingers glistening in the light from the TV.

The diva wonders how she can offer the girl a tissue without letting on that she's been watching when the Latino brings her fingers up to her lips and starts licking them clean. Its only when Santana meets her eyes and winks that Rachel realizes she's been staring with her mouth open.

* * *

They take a break after the second movie and Rachel heads to the kitchen to get some drinks and snacks. After a few moments she's joined by Santana who heads over to the sink and starts washing her hands.

"So you enjoy the show?" Santana teases, "Didn't know you had it in you, good for you Berry."

Rachel sighs, "I really don't know whether to apologize for intruding, or to be annoyed that you did it in our living room. I'm never going to be able to sit in that chair again!"

Santana dries her hands and steps close to Rachel, running her hand down the diva's back and giving her ass a squeeze, "You never have to apologize for watching Rachel" she breathes with a wink before turning and heading back to the living room and leaving Rachel speechless in the kitchen.

* * *

After the third movie Santana, Brittany and Quinn all started to make plans to head to their respective homes, it was getting rather late after all, so it was time for Rachel to make her offer.

"Would you all like to sleep over tonight?" she asked a little nervously.

Quinn agreed quickly enough but Santana was not so keen.

"No chance." She said.

"Awww San, please? It's been ages since we had a sleepover at Rach's" Brittany said making those adorable puppy dog eyes at Santana.

"It's been a few weeks." Santana said huffing but then gives in to Brittany's pout, "Fine. We'll take the guest room, I'm not shacking up with you two."

"Good, you know where the guest room is." She turns to Quinn, "You can sleep with me."

"Wanky" Santana observed.

"I mean" Rachel said flushing, "that she can share my bed."

"Still wanky."

Quinn glares at Santana and turns to Rachel, "We all know what you mean Rachel and that'll be fine."

"So what do we do now?" Asks Brittany, "It's still too early for bed."

"Truth or Dare!" declares Santana

"What are you, five?" Quinn asks.

"Yay" Brittany says, "Truth or Dare! Who's going first?"

Quinn and Rachel sigh resignedly as Santana starts them off. They play a couple of rather tame rounds with the high point being Rachel's declaration that Funny Girl isn't her favorite movie.

"It's my favorite musical but not my favorite movie full stop." She says.

And the fact that the moment Quinn would most want to relive given the chance would be giving birth to Beth sobered them all up for a moment. Then it was Santana's turn to ask Rachel.

"Truth or dare?"

"Truth"

Santana thinks for a moment then asks "What's your favorite sexual fantasy."

Rachel blushes violently and stutters "I-I'm not answering that!"

"Answer or you get the dare Rach" Santana says.

Rachel appeals to Quinn for help, "Quinn?!"

"Sorry Rach, you know the rules."

"Fine" Rachel huffs, "What's the dare?"

"Body shot off of Quinn!" Santana declares, "Get your top off Q"

"No" Quinn says, and continues when Santana looks at her questioningly, "I don't have a bra on."

"Nothing we haven't seen already." Santana points out.

"And anyway, we don't have any tequila" Rachel says.

Santana rolls her eyes and sighs heavily, "Fine, a forfeit then." She thinks for a moment and then her face lights up with an idea. "Rachel and Quinn have to sleep together tonight, in the same bed" she starts. As Rachel is about to speak she says, "Not done yet, both of you in the same bed and both naked."

Quinn's mouth drops open in surprise and after collecting herself she objects, "No! How are you going to verify that? You're not going to perv on us."

"Not that I'd want to anyway Q, nope I'll take Rachel's word for it. And Britt will know if she's lying."

"I always know when people lie" Brittany agrees.

Quinn is speechless; she looks to Rachel who seems to be thinking hard.

"Fine" says Rachel, "We'll do it."

"What?!" Quinn says.

"It's fine Quinn, especially if she's going to take my word for it. Known Santana she could have come up with something far worse."

Quinn looks at Rachel for a moment then sighs in defeat, "Fine, we'll do it."

* * *

Eventually the girls had decided it was time for bed. Santana and Brittany had retired to the guest bedroom with Santana wishing the other two a "good nights 'sleep'" with a wink before closing the door behind them.

"I doubt they'll get much sleep." Rachel observes.

Quinn is standing next to the bed looking at it nervously as Rachel moves around the room performing her night time rituals.

"You know, we don't actually have to do this" Quinn says, "We can just tell Santana we did and she'd never be able to tell the difference."

"Brittany would."

"You don't know that" Quinn said, "That's just Santana saying that."

"And you're saying that Brittany isn't uncannily good at reading people?"

Quinn thinks about this for a moment and has to admit that, yes Brittany has shown just how good she as at reading others. Whether she can tell if someone is lying or not is still questionable in Quinn's mind, but she supposed it was possible.

"Anyway, you'd think you didn't want to do it. Got something to hide?" Rachel asks with a wry smile. "It's not like I haven't seen you naked before."

"There's a difference" Quinn points out, "between seeing someone naked for a few minutes and spending the whole night naked in the same bed with them."

"Look, you stay over your side of the bed and I'll stay on mine. We'll get a good night's sleep and it'll be all over in the morning."

Rachel had been undressing as she'd been talking and when Quinn looked over to her she saw the girl totally naked climbing into the bed. She swallows, undresses and slips into her side of the bed. They lay there for a while listening to each other breath until Quinn finally asks the question that's been on her mind for the last few hours.

"Why didn't you want to tell Santana you're fantasy?"

After a moment Rachel answers, "Because she'd either make fun of it or worse, try and make it come true."

"Will you tell me what it is?" Quinn asks.

"Being taken against the grand piano in the auditorium." Rachel begins.

"That doesn't seem so bad." Quinn says

"With the rest of the Cheerios watching" Rachel finishes.

Quinn really doesn't know how to respond to that and Rachel gets a little defensive at the other girl's silence.

"What? You know I want to be on the stage, a little exhibitionism is to be expected."

Quinn can't help but laugh and she reaches over to the other side of the bed to find Rachel's hand. She interlaces her fingers with the divas and says "Goodnight Rach".

"Goodnight Quinn."

* * *

Quinn was never sure exactly what originally caused her to stir, but she knew what caused her to be wide awake in the early hours of the morning. At some point during the night the pair had reverted to their normal positions in the bed, with Rachel half on top of Quinn and half curled into her side and the covers had been pushed down to their waists. Normally this would not be a problem for Quinn but she was only too aware that both of them were totally naked. Every millimeter of Quinn's skin that was in contact with Rachel's seemed to be on fire and there were some very personal areas of skin in contact between the two girls. Quinn's hand shoots away from the diva when the blonde realizes it has been resting on Rachel's ass.

It takes Quinn a few minutes, mainly because she was distracted because of exactly where the other girl's thigh was pressed, to decide to try and wake Rachel as she doesn't want to be accused in the morning of trying to take advantage of the other girl. She reaches up and gently shakes the other girl by the shoulder. It takes a few attempts before she gets any response.

"Mmmm, sleeping…" Rachel mumbles.

"Rach" Quinn says giving her another shake, "You have to wake up."

Rachel mumbles a little more before she raises her head off of Quinn's shoulder, "What?" she asks then after a moment of collecting her bearings she adds "Oh."

"Rach, do you want to mo-oooh" Quinn's last word turns into an involuntary moan as Rachel chooses that moment to shift her thigh. Quinn bites her lower lip trying to control herself, but her body betrays her and she can already feel herself getting wet.

"Would there be a point?" Rachel asks still sleepy, "We'd just end up here again."

Both girls lay there for a few minutes, Quinn trying to regain her composure and Rachel waking up more. Rachel's head is resting on Quinn's shoulder, giving her an excellent view of the other girls exposed breasts and her free arm has been resting across Quinn's stomach with her hand resting on the blondes lower ribs.

"You know, sometimes I wondered what you would do if I just rolled over when you were giving me those massages. Would you run away or would you…"

Rather than finishing the statement she lifts her hand and carefully cups Quinn's far breast, her forefinger slowly stroking the already hard nipple. She sees Quinn's entire chest shake as her breath catches but the blonde makes no other move to stop her.

"I've seen these a few times now" she says, "and I can't help but notice how perfect they are. There so round and soft and beautiful, I've wanted to be able to reach out and stroke them."

She moves down slightly until her mouth is level with Quinn's other breast, she lowers her head and presses her lips against the nipple and then she separates them, her tongue reaching out to stroke the bud. She closes her lips around Quinn's nipple and sucks lightly, causing Quinn's body to buck beneath her and Quinn to let out a soft moan.

"Rach" Quinn says, her voice a little strangled, "If you don't stop now, I might not be able to."

Rachel releases Quinn's nipple with a soft pop and she smiles, "Who said I'd want you to."

Silence falls and the only movement is Rachel's finger still circling Quinn's nipple. She feels Quinn's hand stroking random shapes on her back and she takes that as a signal to continue.

"I imagined your hands on my breasts" she says giving Quinn's a little squeeze, "then moving down over my torso" She slides her hand down to Quinn's hip, "resting on my hip, reaching under my skirt and playing with the top of my spankies" she slips her hand round to rest on Quinn's mons, "before slipping into them and down between my legs." She moves her thigh and slides her hand down between Quinn's legs causing the other girl to buck beneath her and let out another moan.

"Damn Quinn" Rachel breaths, "You're almost as wet as I am."

Rachel lowers her head to Quinn's breast again, taking the nipple into her mouth and massaging it with her tongue. Her fingers work through Quinn's folds, exploring her in short soft movements, she finds the blonde's clit and strokes it gently eliciting another moan and bucking from her. She slides her fingers back and forth along Quinn's folds, stopping to stroke her clit every now and then and feeling the girl buck beneath her every time.

"Please…" Quinn says breathlessly, "don't tease me."

Rachel releases Quinn's breast for a moment and asks "What do you want Quinn? Tell me what you want."

"Inside" Quinn gasps, "I need you inside me… please." She begs.

Rachel sides her fingers along Quinn, searching for her entrance. "I've never done this before" she whispers, "not even to myself. This will be the first time my fingers have been inside anyone."

"Please…" is all Quinn can whimper.

Rachel finds her target and pushes two fingers inside Quinn without a pause, Quinn's hips rise to meet her and the girl lets out an even louder groan and they slip inside her. Rachel holds her fingers there for a few moments, relishing the feel of the other girl around them and using her thumb to stroke Quinn's swollen nub. She pulls her fingers almost all the way out before pushing them in again, eliciting another groan from Quinn.

She picks up the pace, her fingers sliding in and out of the girl below her while her thumb works Quinn's nub. She finds a rhythm that works for both of them and watches as Quinn slowly comes to pieces below her. She can feel Quinn's walls flutter around her fingers and instinct tells her Quinn is close. Rachel might not have done this before, but she's been reading up on it since she decided to give Quinn a chance, so she crooks her fingers, stroking them along Quinn's walls until she finds that sensitive spot.

Quinn bucks violently below her and curls unto Rachel as she comes undone, a fresh flood of Quinn's juices soaking Rachel's hand. A rising shout of ecstasy escapes Quinn's throat as her whole body shakes against the diva. Rachel keeps her hand moving, helping the other girl ride out her orgasm until she is still.

Rachel props herself up on her free arm and slowly slides her fingers from Quinn, eliciting a small whimper from the now panting girl. The diva brings her hand up to examine it, curious she takes a sniff and smells the scent she knows as Quinn, a slightly muskier version but definitely Quinn. She doesn't see the other girl watching as she experimentally sucks on one finger.

Quinn's eyes widen as she sees the other girl slip one finger into her mouth, she seems to examine the taste for a moment before eagerly licking and sucking the rest of her fingers. Quinn reaches up and pulls the diva's hand out of her mouth and kisses her greedily, her tongue probing Rachel's mouth and finding her own taste on the other girl's lips.

Quinn pushes the other girl onto her back, she sucks on the pulse point in the diva's neck for a moment causing the other girl to squeak, she moves down to her breasts, down over her stomach and finally she settles between the other girl's legs. She looks up and, when Rachel nods once, she lowers her lips to the divas. Rachel is just as soaked as Quinn was and the blonde's tongue slides easily amongst them, she find the diva's clit and sucks on it a little and Rachel is already thrashing around on the bed above her.

"Quinn" Rachel gasps, "fuck me!"

Quinn is a little surprised at Rachel, she's not making a request, she's making a demand. Quinn climbs back up the bed until she's lying next to Rachel.

"Are you sure?" she asks, and when Rachel nods she adds "This will hurt a little."

"Do it. Now" its Rachel's turn to beg.

"If you want me to stop, just say so."

Quinn's slides her hand between Rachel's legs making sure to soak her fingers with the other girl's juices and then slowly pushes a single finger into her. There is some resistance and she feels Rachel tense beneath her and then her finger slides into the other girl. She holds still, allowing Rachel to recover and get used to the feeling, watching worriedly until the diva relaxed and her eyes open again.

Rachel nods and Quinn works her finger back and forth, using her thumb on Rachel's clit just as Rachel had done to her. Rachel's breath becomes pants and her hips start working with Quinn's hand.

"More" she says.

Quinn slides in a second finger and Rachel's back arches and the diva produces a loud moan. The blonde isn't surprised that Rachel's almost done already and she works her fingers in and out of the other girl until she curls up almost into a sitting position and Quinn's fingers are trapped between the diva's convulsing walls.

Quinn sits up with Rachel, wrapping her free arm around the other girl until she stops shuddering, she slides her fingers out of the girl and they both lay back down on the bed, Quinn pulling the covers back up over them.

Both girls have sleepy smiles on their faces and Quinn gives Rachel a long lingering kiss before they both drift off, still entwined in each other's arms.

* * *

**Authors Footnote:** Edited to correct a minor continuity error.


	21. Chapter 21

**Authors Note: **The day after the early morning before :) Thanks everyone for the reviews and favorites, I love to hear your feedback and ideas.

**For blueashke** and anyone else after some Faberrittana: I'll reiterate that it's not going to happen in this story, there might be some joking around and teasing but nothing more. If there is enough demand I might write a one shot or two, or a short story, send your comments and idea's **via PM only**, I don't want other readers of this story getting the wrong idea.

* * *

Maybe it was Santana and Brittany singing or maybe it was the smell of bacon wafting up the stairs and under the door, but either way Quinn is now very awake. She could just hear the music and the girls singing along with it coming from downstairs and she looks to the alarm clock on the bedside table to check the time. Too damn early but the smell of bacon is just too attractive to let her get back to sleep, and her stomach rumbles.

"Sounds like someone's ready for breakfast." Rachel mutters.

Rachel is in her usual place, half curled into Quinn's side and half on top of the other girl, her head resting on Quinn's shoulder and her arm resting across the blonde's stomach. The weight is familiar for the blonde, and while not as intense as before, the skin to skin contact between the two naked bodies still feels electric. The diva's hair is covering her face again so Quinn reaches up and pushes it behind her ear so she can see the other girl properly. She still has her eyes shut.

"Depends on what's on the menu" Quinn teases.

"You're not going to turn into some sort of horndog on me now are you?" Rachel asks.

"It wasn't me that said, and I quote 'Girls want sex just as much as guys do!' in celibacy club now, was it?"

Rachel tries to look indignant still without opening her eyes, but the blush on her cheeks ruins that a little, "Well, it's true. We both know it."

"Apparently so." Quinn agrees.

"I can't believe you remember that."

"A little brunette diva in a short skirt and sleeveless jumper telling a room full of Cheerios and football team that and then doing one of her patented storm outs is kind of memorable." Quinn observes.

The little brunette diva in questions giggles at this, "I guess so."

Rachel rubs her eyes and opens them, blinking a little in the dim light coming in through the curtained window. She looks up at Quinn with a smile and burst into fresh giggles.

"What?" Quinn asks

"You have sex hair." Rachel manages between giggles.

Quinn chuckles, "Well there's a good reason for that, isn't there?"

"Mmmm"

They lay in silence for a few moments the only movement was that of Quinn's hand drawing random shapes on the soft skin of Rachel's back. Neither girl seemed to be in any rush to get up.

"Rach" Quinn begins, "Do we need to talk about what happened last night?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Quinn considers it for a moment, She's a little nervous that Rachel might decide the whole thing was a bad idea, or worse that Quinn wasn't any good. "I just… Are you ok with what happened last night?"

Rachel smiles up at Quinn, "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have started anything" she says, "and I did start it if you remember." Quinn nods but doesn't say anything more and Rachel sighs, "Look Quinn, it might not have been exactly what I thought it might be like, but it was good and I don't regret it."

"Not what you thought it might be?" Quinn looks a little worried.

"Well, I always thought I'd be 25, famous on Broadway and in bed with some hunky guy. Not still in high school and with a gorgeous blonde girl." She emphasizes the last word.

"You were going to wait till you were 25?" Quinn asks a little surprised.

"Yeah"

"Why didn't you?"

"Someone came a long that was worth changing the plan for." Rachel says with a smile.

"So" Quinn starts, a little uncertainly, "What does this make us? Girlfriends?"

Rachel looks thoughtful for a moment, "Well, no one has asked me yet, so I guess I'm still free" she teases.

Quinn laughs and then takes a deep breath, "Rachel Barbara Berry, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

"Yes" Rachel says simply, "But don't think that gets you out of taking me on an amazing first date" she teases.

"What are you doing on Friday after school?" Quinn asks.

"Nothing."

"Good, I'll pick you up at 7 sharp."

They lie there together for a few minutes until Quinn's stomach rumbles again.

"I guess we should get up" Rachel says, "You take the shower, I'm going to work out on my elliptical for a bit."

"You could join me in the shower…" Quinn suggests.

Rachel rolls off of Quinn and pokes her playfully in the side, "Don't push your luck lady."

Quinn huffs, climbs out of bed and walks across to the door to the en suit, making to attempt to cover herself and very aware of Rachel's eyes on her as she goes through the door.

* * *

When Quinn exited the en suit some time later, Rachel is dressed in shorts and a t-shirt and working out on her elliptical. Sinfully short shorts. Quinn stands, towel forgotten in her hand, and watches Rachel's ass rock back and forth as her legs work the exercise machine.

"Once you're done staring at my ass," Rachel says with a note of amusement in her voice, "I put some clothes on the bed for you. Hope you don't mind going commando again."

"This is becoming a habit" Quinn observes as she drags her eyes away from the brunette and crosses to the bed to get dresses.

Now its Rachel's turn to stare as she watches the other girl climb into the sweat pants and pull them up her legs. "Just as long as you don't forget them when you're putting on your uniform on Monday"

Quinn laughs, "Going commando in that would certainly turn heads. I think I'll remember."

Rachel finally manages to drag her eyes away from the other girl once she finishes dressing. She grabs a towel of her own and heads to the en suit, "Why don't you go for breakfast, I'm going to grab a shower and I'll be right down."

* * *

When she reaches the kitchen, Quinn finds Brittany sitting at the table digging in to a pile of pancakes and Santana, back to the rest of the room, cooking some bacon on the stove.

"Something smells good" Quinn says.

"If you think I'm feeding your lazy ass you've got another think coming Fabray" Santana says without turning around.

"But" says Brittany, "You've already eaten, who are you cooking for then?" Brittany asks innocently.

"Busted" Quinn observes.

"Sit down and shut up or I'll feed this to the neighbour's dog."

In an effort not to see the neighbour's dog fed, Quinn sits down and shuts up. Hey, its bacon after all and she can't remember the last time Santana cooked for her even when she stayed over at her place. She looks over at Brittany and notices the blonde has stopped eating and is looked at her oddly.

"Something wrong Britt?" she asks

"Hmmm… something's different…" Brittany says looking thoughtful.

"What's different Britt-Britt?" Santana asks turning with the pan and dishing out the bacon to Quinn's place and then looking up at Quinn, "Holy shit, this ice queen got laid."

Quinn turns bright red and shushes them, "I don't know what you're talking about." She says unconvincingly.

"Oh come on Quinn, you're glowing and the only time I've seen you like that in the past was a few weeks before you told Finnocence you were pregnant." Santana states, "Well damn, I didn't know the midget had it in her." She chuckles for a moment, "Or maybe that should be had it in Quinn."

Quinn shoots to her feet and bangs her hands on the table "Don't talk about Rach like that!" she demands.

"Keep your panties on Quinn, or are you going commando today?" Santana says with a smirk earning another glare from the blonde.

"So is it true?" Brittany asks bouncing up and down with excitement "Did you and Rach make sweet lady lovin?"

"It's nobody's business but our own" Quinn says past a mouthful of bacon.

"That means yes" Santana clarifies breaking out a new pan and looking at the instructions on the back of a package of food.

"What are you doing?" Quinn asks.

"Trying to figure out how to cook this fake bacon shit."

"You're cooking for Rachel now?" Quinn is somewhat surprised.

"After spending a night with you, I figure she's going to need to build up her strength again." Santana chuckles, "She must have gotten the idea from watching me and Britt"

"WHAT?!" Quinn shouts choking on her mouthful of bacon, "When did she watch you two?"

"Last night" Brittany said innocently, "San got handsy during that last movie."

Quinn shakes her head, "Sometimes you two really disgust me."

"Well the plan worked didn't it" Santana said.

"There was a plan?" Quinn is a little surprised.

"Granted it was a little short notice" Santana said thoughtfully, "And it wasn't one of my best I guess, but it got the job done right?"

"It got Quinn done" Brittany corrected with a chuckle.

Quinn just rolls her eyes and gets back to her Bacon.

* * *

"Good morning ladies!"

Rachel bounces into the kitchen a few minutes later just as Santana is just finishing her breakfast. Santana puts the plate in front of an empty chair and indicates for the diva to sit down.

"That's very kind of you Santana, but I'm afraid…" Rachel begins.

"Don't worry midget, it's all vegan, even used a clean pan for it." Santana interrupts.

"Really?" Rachel's a little surprised at the care Santana has taken, "Well thank you Santana, I appreciate it."

"And I'm sure Quinn appreciates what you do for her" Santana says with a wink.

"Quinn!" Rachel declares

"I didn't say anything" Quinn says, "They just assumed"

"But she didn't deny it either" Brittany said.

"Well if you must know, yes Quinn and I had sex last night. And I have to say, I for one found it very satisfying…" Rachel begins

"Too much information!" declares Santana, putting her fingers in her ears.

"Well it was you that started digging" Rachel says with a smirk as she starts digging in to her breakfast.

"So are you too official yet?" Brittany asks

"Yes Brittany" Rachel answers, "but for the moment we'd like to keep that just between the four of us. I'm sure you appreciate how sensitive the subject can be."

"No problem midget, we'll keep your secret" Santana answers.

* * *

Brittany and Santana had left shortly after breakfast much to Rachel's relief. The amount of teasing she and Quinn received was unbelievable and she only hoped that they would keep their mouths shut at school tomorrow. Rachel and Quinn were snuggling on the sofa watching nothing particularly interesting on the TV but just enjoying being together while they could. Rachel's Dads were due back that afternoon and Quinn's mother had called to make sure she'd be home for Sunday dinner.

"What are we going to do at school tomorrow?" Rachel asks suddenly.

"Do you mean coming out, or just in general?" Quinn asks.

"I don't think I'm ready for coming out just yet. What about you?"

"No, I don't think now's the time."

"So in general, how do we behave?"

"Just like we would otherwise I suppose." Quinn suggests, "At least with you in the Cheerios it'll be easier for us to spend time together than it would have been otherwise."

"But if I hadn't joined, you might still hate me." Rachel observes.

"I never hated you Rachel."

That night both girls spend the night in their own beds, and they both miss having the other there with them.


	22. Chapter 22

**Authors Note:** No authors note this time... Oh wait...

* * *

If Quinn had known that this Monday would be about the most frustrating day of her life and the most embarrassing, she may well have stayed in bed and not bothered. As it was she was wide awake way too early after a restless night and was seriously missing a certain petite brunette's weight on top of her as she lay in bed. She doesn't know whether to be happy that she is now officially Rachel's girlfriend, sad because said girlfriend isn't right there beside her right at that moment, or happy that she's going to be seeing her very soon now.

In the end she decided to go for guarded optimism and rolls out of bed to have a shower. She finds herself singing in the shower for the first time in months, certainly since she found out she was pregnant, but she shrugs and sings on as she showers. When she reaches the kitchen there's no sign of her mother to be found though this really isn't a surprise. Quinn wonders if she's in her bed asleep, not home from whatever she was up to last night or out really early this morning. Each is about as plausible as the other and, to be honest, Quinn doesn't really care, she's used to taking care of herself.

Taking care of herself and Rachel. The thought slips into her mind to easily and Quinn can't help but smile. For a moment she can see the future, the two of them going through university together, living in a cramped little apartment in New York and working whatever crappy job they can get to make ends meet. Being there for Rachel's first night on Broadway, getting a house together, the award shows she's sure Rachel will win at, even kids. Before Beth she never thought she'd be a mother but afterwards she knows she wants to carry at least one more child, one she can bring up herself and not have to let go. Quinn really hopes that Rachel wants kids too.

She sighs, shaking her head to clear her mind and starts making breakfast. Bacon!

* * *

While Quinn had been chewing on her bacon she'd had a thought. She didn't have to wait till she got to school to see Rachel; she could go over early and offer her a ride and that way she could sneak in a kiss that she wouldn't get if she waited. She had no idea when Rachel usually left for school, but she was still early and that meant she'd probably get there before the diva left. Even if she had to wait outside for a while before she went to knock on the door.

She dashed out of the door to her car as soon as she'd finished eating and was outside Rachel's house before she knew it. She always hated it when boys came over and sat outside in their cars honking their horns rather than coming to knock at the door, so Quinn intended to wait a little and then knock at Rachel's door and offer her a ride. But she got caught up in the songs playing on her iPod and lost track of time until someone opened the passenger door and climbed in.

"Well good morning Quinn. It's nice, if unexpected, to see you this morning." Rachel says with a smile.

"Hi Rach" Quinn can't help but grin a huge grin, "I thought I'd come over and offer you a ride to school. I was going to knock but I kind of lost track of time."

Rachel reaches over and hooks her hand behind Quinn's neck, pulling the other girl towards her as she leans over, their lips meet and what starts out as a chaste kiss quickly gets heated as both girls get lost in the kiss. When breathing becomes necessary the break apart, their foreheads resting together as they catch their breath.

"Hi" Rachel says.

"Hi" Quinn replies.

And then they kiss again.

* * *

They finally arrive at school but still have a few minutes before the homeroom bell rings. Quinn knew it was going to be difficult keeping her hands off of Rachel, they had spent the best part of two days always in some sort of contact and to Quinn it felt like a lifetime. And the heated make out session outside the diva's home has made things much worse. As they walk through the school door she wants to reach out and take the Rachel's hand but she knows she can't, not yet but someday. It would have come as little comfort to Quinn to know that Rachel felt exactly the same way.

They reach Rachel's locker first since it is closest to the entrance and stand for a few moments surprised at what they see. A red heart shaped balloon is tied to the lock with a red ribbon and is floating near the ceiling with what appeared to be a small card attached to the ribbon just below the balloon.

"I thought we were going to keep things to ourselves for the moment." Rachel says quietly.

Quinn looks around to make sure no one is in earshot before replying, "As much as I'd like to take credit, that isn't from me."

At that Rachel also looks around but doesn't see anyone paying them any sort of attention. She grabs the ribbon and pulls the balloon down and, after a few moments fiddling, manages to detach the card accidentally letting go of the balloon in the process allowing it to return to its original position. She opens the card and Quinn looks over her shoulder, the blonde's hand unconsciously resting on the diva's back, to read the card.

"Just wanted you to how I felt about you. X."

"No signature" Quinn observes.

"I see that."

"Way to be subtle Quinn." Santana says, making both of the girls jump.

They spin round and find Santana and Brittany looking up at the balloon, Brittany's face has a huge smile on it.

"But it's cute San" the blonde says, "It shows Rach she cares."

"But it's not from Quinn" Rachel says handing over the card, "I don't suppose you know the handwriting?"

"Looks like you've got some competition Q" Santana says taking the card and looking at it, "Nope, don't know that handwriting."

The mystery is put on hold as the homeroom bell rings. Rachel grabs the card, pulls down the balloon and stuffs them both in her locker before grabbing her books. Completely forgetting where she was, she turns and gives Quinn a kiss on the cheek before dashing off to class leaving a rather confused Quinn standing next to the lockers.

* * *

The next time Quinn sees Rachel is lunch time since they don't have any classes together on a Monday until Glee. Luckily the seat next to Rachel at the lunch table was free and Quinn just beat Finn to the seat, Santana giving her knowing looks from across the table. They are both in their Cheerios uniforms as normal and Quinn feels the electric zap of Rachel's thigh pressing against her own under the table. Their eyes meet for a moment and they share a smile, until Santana kicks Quinn under the table causing her to jump and bang her knee off of the table.

"What was that for?" she demands of Santana.

Santana looks around for a moment but no one is paying attention so she leans over, "If you two want to keep things under wraps, you need to quit with the eye sex." She says, then adds after a pause looking at Rachel, "And you, I saw you shuffling your chair across there, needed to get that skin-on-skin huh?"

Rachel turns bright red at this and Santana continues, "Well take my advice and stick to playing footsie or you might as well announce it to everyone."

Rachel glares at Santana while the Latino returns to her lunch and mutters "As if she was any better before her and Brittany came out." Causing Quinn to have to choke back a laugh.

Rachel pulls a card from her stack of books and hands it to Quinn before returning to her lunch.

"That was in my locker just before lunch" she says, "I assume it's not from you since the writing appears to be the same as this morning."

Quinn shakes her head as she looks over the card before handing it back to Rachel, "Not from me. And you still have no idea who they're from?"

"Nope"

They return to their lunches and spend the rest of the time chatting with the others sat around them and no one notices them holding hands under the table.

* * *

The afternoon crawled past for Quinn, leaving her more frustrated by the moment. Glee was worse since she didn't manage to get a seat next to Rachel and ended up sitting behind her as that clod Finn kept trying to talk to her. And Cheerios was just exhausting. Quinn wonders if she can persuade Rachel to give her a massage today instead of the other way around. But finally they are alone together in Quinn's car and heading out of the school car park to Rachel's home.

"No more cards?" Quinn asks still slightly worried about them.

"Nope" Rachel says, "I guess we'll see if they stop before we get worried."

Quinn can only agree even though she is already worried, but pointing that out to Rachel wouldn't be helpful at this point. They arrive at Rachel's home and without prompting Quinn follows her inside and up to the diva's room. The brunette strips off her top and bra and climbs onto the bed as normal but when Quinn climbs on beside her to start the massage; she rolls onto her back and links her hands around the blonde's neck, pulling her down for a long kiss.

"I've needed that all day" she sighs when they break for a breath.

Quinn's head is spinning a little and she doesn't know what to do with her hands because, well… Rachel, right there, topless.

Rachel giggles at Quinn's stupefied look, "Well do something Quinn, it looks like your heads about to explode."

She reaches out with one hand cupping Rachel's breast, her thumb slowly stroking the hardening nipple and eliciting a soft moan from the other girl as she lowers herself down, supporting herself on her other arm, to kiss the her. Its starts as a chaste pressing of two pairs of lips together before Quinn's tongue begs access to Rachel's mouth and then an all-out war for domination between the pair of them, their tongues battling back and forward between both mouths.

Quinn moves her hand from the other girl's breast, sliding it down over her stomach. She moves the panels of Rachel's skirt out of the way and slides her hand between the diva's legs, cupping her core with only her panties and spankies between them. Quinn can already feel the head radiating from Rachel and both of them moan into each other's mouths. Quinn can remember the brief taste she had of Rachel only two nights ago and she wants more, no she needs more.

"I need to taste you" she breathes into Rachel's mouth, "Can I taste you?" she almost begs.

Rachel nods and the two girl's lips separate. Quinn slowly kisses her way over Rachel's jaw line, down her neck, between her breasts and over her stomach only stopping when she reaches the waistband of the Cheerios skirt. She moves her hands to Rachel's hips under the skirt, capturing the spankies and panties and pulling them down the diva's unbelievably long legs before tossing them into a corner. Rachel shudders at the sudden cool air hitting her core and at the anticipation of what is to come.

Quinn kneels between Rachel's legs, the other girl shifting up the bed to make room, and she gazes down at Rachel before her.

"You're beautiful Rach" she says, her hands on Rachel's thighs gently pushing them further apart, "just beautiful."

Before Rachel can respond, Quinn's head drops between the brunette's legs. The flat of her tongue slides along Rachel's lips from her entrance to her little nub, causing the other girl to shudder with pleasure and Quinn's mouth to fill with her essence. She repeats this process a few times, drinking in as much of Rachel as she can before using the point of her tongue to stroke and circle the diva's clit.

Rachel's back arches pushing herself harder against Quinn's tongue, her hips buck and she moans loudly and long at the sensation. Quinn continues playing her tongue along Rachel's lips, exploring every fold and crevice and causing Rachel to squirm below her. Just as Rachel is about to beg for more, Quinn's fingers find her entrance and two slide easily inside.

The unexpected feeling caused Rachel to scream in pleasure, a deafening noise backed by the full strength of the singer's lungs, and suddenly there's a pounding of feet on the stairs and a voice calling up.

"Rachel?! Are you ok…? Oh"

Both Quinn and Rachel's heads snap to the open door and there they see Rachel's Dad, one hand on the door handle, the other now covering his eyes.

"Um, when you two are done I'll be downstairs, I think we need to talk." He says before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.


	23. Chapter 23

**Authors Note:** Hi all, here we go with the fall out from the previous chapter. Thanks all for your follows, favorites and especially your reviews. I love to hear what your all thinking.

* * *

Unsurprisingly neither girl felt like finishing what they had started right then so they both take quick showers, separately, and get dressed. Rachel in some fresh clothes and Quinn in her Cheerios uniform. Just before Quinn jumped in the shower Rachel presented her with a fresh set of panties.

"Just in case, I think they should fit"

"Did you make me go around all weekend without any underwear just for the fun of it?" Quinn asks incredulously.

"No, I needed to get some things from the store on Sunday after you left, so I picked those up. You know, just to be prepared."

Quinn smiles, "Planning for everything huh?" causing Rachel to blush a little, "Thanks Rach."

They both take a deep breath and head downstairs where they find both of Rachel's fathers waiting for them in the living room with unreadable looks on their faces. Quinn and Rachel glance at each other and cross to the couch, sitting as close together as they can for mutual support.

"So how long has this" Leroy waves his hand around in mid-air unable to find the appropriate word, "been going on?"

"If you mean how long Quinn has been pursuing me, almost two months now. If you mean how long we've been dating, since Sunday morning. If you mean how long we've been having sex, well also Sunday."

Quinn turns beetroot red and buries her face in her hands, "Rach!"

"Quinn, my fathers and I have always been open and honest with each other." Rachel says

"So What I saw up there…" Hiram starts.

"You wouldn't have had to see if you had knocked first. I thought we had an understanding that a closed door meant privacy!" Rachel interrupts.

"The door wasn't closed otherwise I wouldn't have heard you!" Hiram snaps.

"Um, I might not have shut it fully." Quinn offers meekly into the silence.

"Oh" Rachel says, "right."

Through this Leroy had been thinking about Sunday and demanded to know "Was that why you wanted to have a sleepover on Saturday night? So you could …"

"No Daddy" Rachel interrupts again with a sigh, "Quinn had already slept over on Friday night. If I'd just wanted to have sex with her, I could have done it without having needed to call you to ask! I did not lie to you."

"Why didn't you tell us you were dating?" Hiram asks, "We just want to know what's going on in your life honey."

"Because I wasn't, not until this weekend and if you remember you didn't get in till late last night and wanted to go straight to bed. And then you rushed out of the house this morning almost before I got up." Rachel lectures, "You don't know because you didn't give me a chance to tell you."

Rachel's dads glanced at each other and had to admit she was right, they'd been late back the previous night and had been in a rush to get to their respective offices this morning and so hadn't really had time to say anything other than hello to their daughter.

"OK fine, we'll take the blame for that, but don't you think things are moving a little fast for you two. You became girlfriends and that's fine, but you became sexually active soon after? Don't you think you should take some time to get to know each other first?" Leroy asks.

"Actually" Rachel says, "It was the other way around. We had sex first and then Quinn asked me to be her girlfriend later that morning."

"Oh god" Quinn mumbles. All she wants to do right now is curl up into a ball and die. She's never been so embarrassed in her life and she's pretty much given up any attempt at adding anything to the conversation at this point. Better leave it to Rachel she figures, at least she wouldn't be digging her own grave.

"Did she force you…" Hiram starts

"No!" Rachel snaps shooting up from the sofa and shouting at her father, "She didn't. If you must know I initiated it, I wanted to have sex with her, I gave in to temptation, not her. She was kind and gentle and concerned, she didn't force me to do anything and she asked me repeatedly if it was okay. And you know what? It was the best damn decision I ever made! We didn't just have sex, we made love and it might not have been with a boy or when I was 25, but I don't regret it for a second."

Rachel stands breathing heavily for a few moments, the anger that had caused her outburst spent, and then she swallows and sits back down on the sofa. Quinn was just staring at the other girl, her mouth agape at the revelation.

"And now I think you owe Quinn an apology for accusing her of forcing herself on me." Rachel says.

There's a pause and when no apology appears forthcoming Rachel glares at her fathers, "Well?"

Both the Berry men look a little uncomfortable after Rachel's outburst. But it was Leroy that broke the silence, "You have to forgive us Quinn, we didn't mean to imply anything. We're just very protective of her and this is all so much of a surprise."

"It's OK" Quinn just manages.

"Quinn, does your mother know that you're seeing Rachel?" Leroy asks carefully, "I seem to remember she was a very religious person and we wouldn't want to let slip that you're gay if you haven't told her."

Quinn chews on her lip for a moment, she hasn't really thought about what she is since she decided to pursue Rachel, it never really seemed important and she'd never considered the consequences. Until now. "I don't know what I am, if it's just Rachel or just girls or whatever. Right now all I know is that I have feelings for her that I want to explore" she looks up at Rachel to see the diva smiling back at her. "And no, my mother doesn't know. I don't know what she'd do if I told her." She says looking back down at her hands.

Leroy and Hiram both let out a long sigh at that, "Well, know that we'll all be here if you need us." Hiram says and Leroy agrees.

"Now that we have all that sorted out" Hiram says, "we need to address the future. I think an open door policy would be …"

"Why?" Rachel interrupts.

"What?" Hiram looks confused.

"What exactly do you think will be achieved by an open door policy? You're well aware we've already had sex after all and it's not like either of us risks getting pregnant. And do you know the statistics on how successful or not enforced abstinence is between two hormonal teens?"

"Do you?" Quinn asks, taken aback.

"No" Rachel admits, "I'd have to look them up, but I'm sure they'd support my argument."

"It's the principle of the thing" Hiram interjects.

"So in principle, you'd rather have us running around having sex in, for example, the back of my car and denying it?" Rachel asks, "Than safely and openly in my room?"

"Openly?" Quinn asks aghast.

"Figuratively" Rachel assures her.

"I'd rather you didn't do it at all" Hiram says.

"Well it's a little late for that." Rachel observes. "Look, you always said you'd trust me to make informed decisions when the time was right. I've made that decision in this case, so now I think we have to find out if you're going to support me or if you don't really believe all the things you've told me over the years.

Leroy looks at Hiram who just shrugs and says "She's got a point."

"Fine… just, um, keep it quiet and please, not when we're at home." He says.

"Good" Rachel stands, smoothing out her top then reaching for Quinn's hand, "Now if you'll excuse us, we were interrupted in the middle of something. Please, don't come knocking."

Quinn stares at Rachel in a daze and allows herself to be more or less dragged up the stairs. She follows Rachel into her room and has the presence of mind to close the door behind her, which she then collapses against.

"Did your Dads just give us permission to…" she trails off, not knowing exactly how to finish that sentence.

"Yup" Rachel says with a huge smile on her face.

Quinn finds her body pinned between the diva and the door, soft lips pressing against the skin of her neck and hands roaming over her uniform.

"Rach, I'm not sure I'm…" she begins

She's interrupted by Rachel's lips pressing against her, the diva's tongue begging for entry and before she knows it their tongues are battling for dominance once more. Quinn feels the brunette's hands slide behind her and down onto her ass and she's pulled forward against Rachel and the moan she produces allows Rachel to win dominance in the battle of the tongues.

Rachel massages the blonde's ass for a few moments before sliding her hands up to the other girl's hips. She hooks her thumbs into the waistband of her spankies and, making sure to take the new panties with them, pushes them down as far as she can reach without breaking the kiss. She slowly kneels in front of Quinn, pulling the spankies down as she goes until they are puddled on the floor at the blonde's feet.

Rachel lifts each foot, one at a time, and pulls the spankies over them, discarding them and the panties in a pile to be collected later. She runs her hands up the blonde's legs, marvelling at how smooth and shapely they are, until she reaches the bottom of Quinn's skirt. She lifts the panels over her head exposing the other girl's core and Quinn shudders against the door as Rachel's warm breath caresses her. Rachel can already see Quinn's core glistening in the little light that makes it through the skirt panels and she inhales the other girls intoxicating scent greedily.

She encourages Quinn to raise one leg, placing it over her shoulder to rest on the diva's back and Quinn reaches out for the door frame to steady herself. Rachel takes great delight in doing to Quinn exactly what the blonde had been doing to her earlier; she runs the flat of her tongue from Quinn's entrance to her nub, repeating the action a number of times before stroking the blonde's clit with her tongue, eliciting another louder moan.

She runs one hand up and down Quinn's thigh as she works her tongue between the blonde's lips and she can feel the girl shudder again and again. She slides her tongue back to Quinn's entrance and, after a pause, pushes inside to a loud gasp from the other girl. She pumps in and out a few times causing Quinn to reach down and hold her head while her hips buck towards the brunette.

"More" Quinn gasps, "please… more…"

Rachel extracts her tongue, returning once more to Quinn's clit as she lubricates her fingers with the girls own juices. She sucks gently on the nub for a few moments while running the tips of her fingers around the other girl's entrance teasing a little and can't help but smile when she hears Quinn pleadingly breathe her name.

She pushes two fingers into the girl and Quinn's hips buck again, the leg over Rachel's shoulder convulsing with the movement. Rachel alternates between sucking and stroking Quinn's clit as she pumps her fingers in and out and Quinn knows she's not going to last much longer. She feels herself tightening as Rachel works her fingers in and out, arcs of pleasure shooting throughout her system and if it wasn't for the diva in front of her and the door behind, she's sure she'd be collapsed on the floor at this point.

"Oh god…" she gasps, "I'm coming… I'm going to…"

She doesn't get to finish the sentence before she comes undone. Wave after wave of pleasure coursing through her body. She crashes against the door again and again as her back arches to push her core against Rachel's fingers and then her leg does give way and its only Rachel catching her that stops her hitting the floor. Rachel more or less carries the blonde to her bed and curls up beside her to hold her while the last convulsions of her orgasm pass, and then they doze off together.


	24. Chapter 24

**Authors Note:** So I've had a bit of a problem with the story and managed to loose track of things that had been going on. So I've had to read through everything and make a timeline so hopefully I'll be able to keep track of things from now on. I've only had to make one small change to chapter 20 to the comments made by Santana and Brittany about staying over, they used to talk about never doing it before but they had!

Thanks all for the comments and reviews, I'm really surprised at the response to Chapter 23 but I'm glad you all liked it.

* * *

She might not actually have died of embarrassment, but in Quinn's opinion it was a near death experience and one she had no plans on repeating any time soon. She had sneaked out of Rachel's home, much to Rachel's amusement, shortly after waking from her impromptu nap. Sneaked because she didn't think she could look the Berry men in the eye right now knowing that the two men knew exactly what she and their daughter had been getting up to. Apart from the acute embarrassment, Rachel's openness with her fathers had astounded the blonde. On her drive home she tried to imagine ever being that honest with her mother and came to the conclusion that all involved in that conversation would probably die of embarrassment within the first few seconds.

On Tuesday morning Quinn had arrived at Rachel's house to offer her a ride to school only to find that Rachel had a class right after school and would need her car to get there. So after a good morning kiss, during which she was sure she could feel the eyes of the Berry men boring into her back even though Rachel assured her they had already gone to work, she had followed the other girl as she drove to school.

They walked in to school together, not hand in hand even though Quinn's hand itched to take Rachel's but side by side. They were both relieved to see no unusual adornments on the outside of Rachel's locker today and no cards waiting inside so they passed the time for a few minutes before Rachel decided to head off to her first class. Quinn watches her go.

"If you keep looking at her like that, you might as well just fuck her in the middle of the football field during halftime at a home game." Santana teases, "It might get the message out a little bit quicker I think, but not by much."

"Subtle Santana" Quinn says turning to find the Latino and Brittany standing behind her, hand in hand.

"About as subtle as you were." Santana observes, "I thought you wanted to keep things quiet, and yet your eye fucking her at every opportunity." Santana cocks her head and looks at Quinn, "I think you need to get laid again."

"No I don't" Quinn snaps, "Now can we change the subject?"

Santana looks at the bank of lockers behind Quinn, "No balloons or cards?"

"Nope, nothing."

"Well that's good I guess."

The homeroom bell rings and the three girls head to their respective classes.

* * *

Santana had discovered Rachel's after school appointment during lunch and insisted dragging Quinn back to Brittany's home with them for some "Unholy Trinity time". This basically meant that Quinn was now sitting at Brittany's desk randomly surfing the internet on the other girl's laptop and trying desperately to ignore the other two girls making out on Brittany's bed. At least she hopes they are just making out, she wouldn't be surprised to find out that wasn't all they were up to.

"Do you two have to do that while I'm here?" she asks, annoyed more by the fact she isn't doing the same thing with Rachel than the other girls actual behavior.

"What's wrong Quinn?" Asks Santana, "Oooooh is Rachel already not putting out?" she adds in a knowing tone.

Before Quinn could realize what she was saying she replied, "No that's not a problem at all!" Quinn blushes as she realizes what she said and Santana just chuckles. "You invited me here for some 'Unholy Trinity time' and all you've done is suck face."

"OK, girl talk!" declares Santana with an evil glint in her eye, "How is she in bed, any good? Who's the top?"

"Oh! I bet she's a screamer!" Brittany adds bouncing up and down on the bed.

Quinn turns beetroot red for the second time in as many days and wishes she'd kept her mouth shut. What else would Santana and Brittany want to talk about then sex and her budding relationship with Rachel? And now, knowing Santana, she wouldn't give up before getting an answer. And apparently Quinn had been thinking too long already.

"Well? Come on Quinn, dish the dirty."

"Yes, OK? She's good, very good." Quinn mutters feeling her face burn.

Santana's smirk grows and she pushes on, "Has she given you the big O yet?"

"I'm not answering that question!" Quinn says

"That's a no" says Brittany

"No its not!" snaps Quinn

"So it's a yes, good one Q. Hope you returned the favor." Santana says

Quinn just looks and the floor and nods slightly. She wonders for a moment if there's something out there that's decided to kill her through an overdose of embarrassment.

"So is she a screamer?" Santana asks

Quinn rolls her eyes and sighs, "If you tell her I told you, I'll go all 'Lima Heights' on your ass for a change. But yes, she can be quite" there is a pause as Quinn searches for the appropriate word, "vocal."

"Ha! I knew it!" Santana declares chuckling for a few moments. Then she decides to give Quinn a bit of advice, "But remember, while its good to hear what you're doing is appreciated, you have to be very careful not to get caught. Especially if she's as loud as she is when she's singing." She pauses for a moment considering then adds "But that soundproof room should help."

Quinn is still looking at the floor and playing with her fingers and Santana looks at her for a moment before groaning, "You got caught didn't you?" At Quinn's nod she shakes her head in disbelief, "She's loud enough to be heard through soundproofing? Damn Berry, didn't know you had it in you."

"I may have left the door open." Quinn admitted.

"Oh" Santana grimaced, "Rookie mistake Q. So that's the end of the fun at her place huh? Open door policy?"

"Um, no. She sort of talked her dads out of that. We can do whatever we like."

"What?! How? Quinn, if I've ever meant anything to you as a friend, you have to tell me exactly what she said!"

As it turns out, Santana's parents had finally caught on to what their daughter and her girlfriend were doing in Santana's room and while they had no objection to her having a girlfriend they had a very strong "Not under my roof" reaction to Santana's favorite pastime and an open door policy had been invoked. Santana wasn't exactly modest, but even she had reservations with doing anything more than making out when her parents could walk past the door at any moment.

This all explains why Brittany and Santana are spending a lot of time at Brittany's house these days. Either her parents hadn't caught on yet or it didn't bother them, but Santana wasn't looking to find out which it is.

And so Quinn recounts as accurately as she can the conversation between Rachel and her Dads and threatens Santana within an inch of her life if she ever told anyone else. Santana agrees and promises Quinn that she owes her big time before running off home leaving a somewhat confused Brittany behind with Quinn.

* * *

Wednesday morning and Rachel finds herself being hugged by an ecstatic Santana as soon as she arrived at her locker.

"Rach, you know how often I thank people, but I owe you a one big time." She says spinning Rachel around once or twice before dropping her back on the ground and literally skipping off somewhere leaving Rachel rather confused.

"What the…?"

"Quinn told her what she said to her fathers" Brittany says from behind Rachel causing her to jump, "apparently it worked on her parents too."

"Quinn told her what?"

"All that stuff about making your own informed choices and if they believe what they taught her."

"Oh did she now" Said Rachel glaring slightly at Quinn, "and it worked?"

Brittany nods, "Yup, we had a sleepover last night and…"

"Brittany!" Santana calls from down the corridor interrupting the blonde.

"Oh, gotta go, bye Rachie."

* * *

Friday comes and Quinn hasn't had any time to spend with Rachel. On Wednesday she'd had to help her mother with one of her dinner parties which hadn't gotten any less tortuous since her father had been kicked out but at least she hadn't had to listen to him go on and on about his 'perfect daughter'. On Thursday Rachel had gone to another of those mysterious classes she'd been going to for the past few weeks. She wouldn't tell the blonde what they were when Quinn had asked, but assured her that they'd be done soon. Quinn assumes they're some singing or dancing thing.

There hadn't been any more balloons or cards until Friday morning. Another balloon had been attached to the locker and Rachel had found the card inside right away this time. The girls, along with Brittany and Santana, were having their lunches sitting more alone at a table in the cafeteria and trying to work out who sent the card.

"What does it say again?" asked Santana

Rachel reads from the card, "Seeing you at the beginning of the week makes it worth going to school. Seeing you on Friday makes the weekend fly by. See you at Glee on Monday. X"

"So who is it in glee club then? Finn?" Quinn asks.

"He's never done anything romantic in his life" Rachel observes, "and I doubt he'll start now. Plus I thought I'd got the message across the last time I sang to him."

"You'd need a sledgehammer to get a message through his thick skull." Santana says, "But yeah, this is a little too classy for him. How about Puck?"

"Too classy for Finn and you think Puck could have come up with it?" Quinn says, "Anyway, he's too busy chasing Lauren."

"Zizes? Seriously?" Santana says, to which Quinn nods causing Santana to shudder. "Sam?"

"Sam likes Quinn" Brittany says out of nowhere.

"What?" Both Quinn and Rachel says, surprised.

Brittany nods, "I've seen the way he looks at you, he's so into you."

"Well tough, I'm not interested." Quinn says.

"Better not be" Rachel comments, "Well it can't be Mike, he's glued to Tina. Artie?"

"It could be his style, but there is a technical problem, I doubt he could reach your locker." Quinn points out.

"Someone could be helping him."

"Maybe. So who does that leave?"

"Kurt" Santana says.

Rachel shakes her head and looks down at her hands shyly, "He knows about Quinn and I." she admits. She hadn't told Quinn she had talked to Kurt about her advances and she wasn't sure how the blonde would react.

Quinn looks over at Rachel and sees she's enviously playing with her fingers and sighs, "Somehow it doesn't surprise me. Its OK Rachel, I talked to Santana and Brittany as well." Allowing Rachel to relax.

"So what about girls?" Brittany asks, "It could be one of them."

Quinn, Rachel and Santana look at each other for a moment and then all three say "No" in unison. Silence falls between the four of them for a few minutes and then the bell rings for the end of the Lunch period.

"Oh well" Santana says lightly, "I guess we'll see on Monday."

* * *

Quinn was beyond nervous. She was at home getting ready for her first date with Rachel and yes, while Rachel had already agreed to be her girlfriend, she still wanted this date to be perfect. She's spent ages and called in some favors to get everything just right and now she needed to find just the right outfit. She's wrapped in a town fresh from the shower and rooting through her closet for something decent. A dress was out and that didn't really leave Quinn with much in the way of options, so black jeans and a button-up. Instead of her favorite baby blue, she decides to go with a pale green color, just for a little change. She grabs a pullover, just in case it got colder later, and her jacket and heads downstairs.

Right into her mother.

"You're looking nice dear? Going on a date?"

"Um, just going out with some friends Mom"

"Is there no nice boys in that school?" her Mom asks, "I know your father was picky about the boys you went out with but I'm not as long as their nice."

"I'll keep that in mind Mom but I really have to go." Quinn says as she dashes out the door. She jumps into her car and heads over to Rachel's house. She's early which is better than being late so she sits waiting for a little while before going in. She calls Santana to check.

"Santana, Is everything ready?"

"Keep your knickers on Q or at least until Berry wants to take them off" Santana scoffs, "But everything's ready, don't worry."

"Thanks, I owe you."

"And I'll remember that. Now don't keep your girl waiting."

Quinn hangs up and climbs out of the cars. She straightens her outfits and heads over to the front door. It's opened at her knock by Leroy and Quinn blushes a bit as she remembers the last time she spoke to Rachel's fathers.

She clears her throat, "I'm here to pick up Rachel, is she ready?"

* * *

**Authors Footnote: **So Quinn's mom is going to have to find out about Rachel sooner or later (though I'm not sure when yet) and I haven't decided yet if she'll be OK with it or kick Quinn out. Thoughts?


	25. Chapter 25

**Authors Note:** Thank you all for your feedback, its pretty clear what most of you would prefer with Judy, so we'll see what happens soon. You'll find some changes from the show canon below, but its all for good reasons. I hope you all like it.

* * *

"I'm ready Quinn"

Quinn looks up and finds Rachel standing at the top of the stairs and she feels like her breath has been stolen from her lungs. Rachel's dressed in blue jeans and a deep purple jumper, not one of her animal ones but with a subtle pattern across it. But what takes Quinn's breath away is the girl herself. Her hair is long and loose, slightly curled and falling in waves around her shoulders. Her makeup is heavier than normal but tasteful and highlights all the right features leaving her looking older, more sophisticated and if possible even more beautiful than normal.

"You look beautiful." Quinn says

Rachel blushes and in Quinn's opinion the color in her cheeks makes her even more stunning. The diva comes down the stairs and gives Quinn a soft kiss in her cheek.

"Thank you, you look beautiful too."

Quinn swallows and blushes herself and then remembers the flowers which she offers to Rachel, "These are for you."

She'd picked the flowers up on the way home from school and had left them in her car when she was getting changed, just as well as she would never have been able to explain that to her mother. She wasn't exactly sure why she'd bought them but she'd seen the flower shop she passed on her way home every night and had decided to visit the store. When she'd gone in her eyes had been drawn across the store to an unusual bouquet that mixed red and white roses with some gardenias that she knew Rachel would love. And she was right.

"Oh Quinn, you shouldn't have, but these are beautiful." Rachel takes the bouquet with a genuine smile and samples their scent before offering them to her father, "Daddy, could you put these in water please?"

He nods and accepts the flowers before heading through to the kitchen to deal with the flowers leaving Quinn and Rachel alone at the door letting Quinn draw a breath of relief.

"Shall we go?" Quinn asks offering her arm to Rachel. The other girl retrieves her jacket from the hooks in the hall then links her arm around Quinn's and allows the blonde to lead her out to the car, pulling the house door closed behind them.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asks

"Not yet" Quinn says opening the car door for Rachel, "You'll see soon enough."

Rachel climbs in and Quinn shuts the door, almost running around the car to get in the driver's seat. She slides a CD into the player, a selection of songs she hopes Rachel likes, and drives off to their date.

"You're seriously not going to tell me?" Rachel asks.

She's been asking Quinn to tell her what they were going to be doing since Quinn had remembers to tell her to wear something warm, but Quinn had managed not to let it slip yet and she wasn't about to ruin the surprise.

"Nope, you'll see soon enough. It's only a few minutes' drive away."

Rachel huffs and turns to look out the window, but Quinn can tell she's not really upset since she's started to sing along to the music playing in the car. Quinn drives on and a few minutes later the road signs, and Rachel's knowledge of the local area, makes it clear where they're going.

"The drive in? I thought that was shut for a bunch of upgrades." Rachel was a little disappointed to be honest; she's expected something a little more imaginative from Quinn.

"It reopens tomorrow, tonight is a special viewing."

"For who?"

They turn into the car park and pull up next to a large black SUV parked the wrong way round with its tailgate pointing towards the screen. Quinn climbs out of the car and jogs round to open Rachel's door and help her out.

"Just you and me." She says, answering Rachel's question.

"Isn't this Kurt's SUV?" Rachel asks.

"Yes" Quinn confirms, "His father gave it back to him after the summer and he's let me borrow it tonight. I needed something bigger than my car."

Quinn opens the back of the SUV allowing Rachel to see inside. The back seats have been folded down creating a large space inside which had been filled with blanket and pillows and some small fairy lights had been run around the top of the space, casting a subtle twinkling light throughout. It looked pretty cozy inside.

Quinn helps Rachel inside then runs round to the front of the car to turn on the radio, already tuned in to the appropriate frequency for the soundtrack of the movie and then pulls a picnic basket from the front seat before climbing in beside Rachel and pulling the tailgate closed behind her.

"I've got sandwiches, Tortilla wraps, salad and other snacks, all vegan friendly. There's also some soup and coffee in the thermoses if we need something warmer later. So dinner and a movie, but with an unconventional touch." Quinn says nervously, "I hope you like it."

Rachel isn't feeling disappointed any more. Yes dinner and a movie is a pretty conventional first date, but she can tell Quinn has gone to a lot of effort to put this on for her and she's pretty impressed that the blonde has managed to get the whole drive-in for themselves.

"It's wonderful Quinn, really. What are we going to see?"

Quinn takes out her phone and sends a short text message and a few moments later the sounds system comes alive and the projector switches on to show the opening scene of Rachel's favorite musical, Funny Girl. Rachel smiles and snuggles into Quinn's arms and they dig in to the picnic, occasionally feeding each other with their fingers as they watch the movie.

* * *

After Funny Girl the girls had watched another movie and then it was time to get back home. Quinn helps Rachel out of the SUV and holds her car door for the diva as she gets in. She drives back to Rachel's home, the remainder of the CD playing on the way, and pulls in to Rachel's driveway just before 11pm. She opens Rachel's door and then walks her to the front door.

"I hope you had a good time tonight Rach." Quinn says.

"It was wonderful Quinn thank you." Rachel reassures her, "One of the best I've been on. But tell me, how did you get the drive-in for just us?"

"The owner has a son that goes to that private high school on the other side of town, he was going to fail physics last year but I ended up tutoring him and he passed. It's not like I had much else to do when I was pregnant, but it meant his Dad owed me a favor."

"Well I'm glad he did, because it was a wonderful date Quinn. Thank you."

"Does that mean I can take you on another date then?" Quinn asks shyly.

"No" Rachel answers after a moment, "Next time is my turn I think." Causing Quinn to smile.

"OK".

They stand for a few moments before Rachel asks "Do you want to come in?"

Quinn shakes her head and explains, "I think a first date traditionally ends with a kiss on the doorstep."

Before Quinn can blink, Rachel has stepped over and wrapped the blonde in her arms, pressing their lips together in a kiss that very quickly threatened to turn in to more. Quinn holds the other girl close and kisses her passionately but breaks the kiss first, being surprised she needs to take a breath before Rachel would. She takes a step back as the front door opens and they look up to find Rachel's Dad standing there.

Rachel glances at her father then returns her attention to Quinn "I'll see you soon, OK?"

"Soon" Quinn agrees, then heads back to her car.

After she climbs in she looks back to Rachel's door and sees the girl standing waving to her. She waves back and pulls away and head back home. Rachel watches her go with a smile before closing the door and heading up to her room.

* * *

Quinn arrives home to find an unfamiliar car in the drive. She can see the living room light still burning through the curtain so she assumes her mother is entertaining some of her friends. She sighs and parks next to the other car, her intention to sneak in and make in to her room before her mother can call her on to meet whoever it is, but things don't go exactly to plan.

As she quietly opens the front door she can hear her mother's voice carrying through from the front room.

"… you know how her father was, so please don't be offended if she reacts badly."

"Its OK Judy" a strange voice replies, "I'm sure it'll be OK and if not" there's a pause as if the speaker was shrugging, "I guess we'll just have to work on it, for both their sakes."

Quinn had a nagging feeling she knew that other voice. Something in the back of her mind, an old memory struggling to be uncovered. Wait was that…? She closes the front door and takes the few steps into the living room. There, sitting on the sofa opposite her mother is the stranger. She's almost a spitting image of Judy, though a couple of years younger and immediately Quinn knows who it is.

"Aunt Jane?"

Her aunt stands and turns towards her nodding, "Quinn"

"Aunt Jane!"

Quinn can't remember crossing the room, but in moments her arms are around the aunt she hasn't seen in so many years. Being Judy's only sibling, and still single when Quinn was borne, she had taken it on herself to spoil Quinn silly when she was a child and Quinn had always loved her aunt.

"I haven't seen you since…" Quinn begins, unable to remember exactly when.

"Your 8th birthday." Jane supplies nodding.

"That's right!" Quinn says remembering, "You brought your friend and Dad got angry. He told me later you'd left and we weren't going to see you again."

Jane's eyes are sombre and she appears nervous, playing with her fingers in a way Quinn recognizes from Rachel of all people. Jane nods and begins to explain, her voice breaking on the first word.

"Y-Your Dad sent us away when he found out." She says, "He told us to never come back, he didn't want us, um, mixing with his family. Soon after we moved to Columbus."

Quinn could tell from the way Jane said it that her father had probably said something a lot nastier than mixing. She wasn't entirely surprised that her father had sent them away, it hadn't been like Aunt Jane to not call or drop by regularly and then to suddenly cut all ties? But no one had explained why.

"Why?" She asked, "What did he find out that he didn't like."

"You remember my friend?" Jane asks and Quinn nods. Jane takes a deep breath and continues, "She was my girlfriend and now she's my wife."

"You're Gay?" Quinn blurts before she could stop herself.

Jane nods and Quinn unconsciously glances to her mother, who's looking almost as nervous as Jane does.

"I'm not your father" Judy says, "I never had a problem with Jane's sexuality. I just couldn't persuade Russell to let her visit anymore."

Jane nods and continues to explain, "We kept in touch when we could, I was always interested in how you were doing."

"Which is how you knew I go by Quinn now" Quinn observes to which Jane nods.

"We're moving back to Lima. Kirsty, that's my wife, has been offered a good job at the hospital and I can work from anywhere with a decent internet connection and we'd both like to get to know you again."

Quinn nods, "I'd like that" she manages.

Quinn now realizes she has someone to talk to apart from Santana and Brittany, and let's face it those girls aren't exactly a font of knowledge about being gay and she's sure Jane won't let it slip to her mother. And she has her favorite, OK only, aunt back.

"There's something else." Jane says and if anything she seems more nervous than before. "About a year ago Kirsty and I decided we wanted to have a family. About four months ago we adopted a beautiful little girl; we thought you might like to get to know her."

Quinn looks between Jane and her mother a little confused, "Well sure, if I can babysit or anything, I'd be happy to."

Jane looks to Quinn's mother who nods once and then turns back to Quinn, "Quinn, we adopted Beth."


	26. Chapter 26

**Authors note: **So a little surprise for you all in the last chapter? I am surprised at how many of you think that this is going to be a major change of track.. I guess we'll have to see. I do know I've lost some followers after that one but you can't please all the people all the time. For those who stick around, thank you and expect more of what you've already had. And to the anonymous review that said I only brought Beth in because I had no idea where to take the story, sorry but your wrong. Did you not notice the references to Beth and her picture throughout?

**sol goddess:** Oh ye of little faith, never think anything's been missed till the story's over :) (j/k)

* * *

When the sun rose over Lima the next day it illuminated Quinn sitting on one of the swings in a playground a few blocks from her home. Truth be told she hadn't really slept at all that night. When the initial shock had worn off, her mother and aunt had sat her down and told her how everything had turned out as it had. She'd gone to bed but hadn't been able to sleep and finally giving up somewhere around 5am. She had snuck out of the house to get some fresh air and her feet had automatically taken her to this spot where she'd come so many times as a child when she wanted to escape the house that Russell had ran. She'd sat on the swing in the dark and then watching the sun rise and still couldn't fully comprehend how her life had changed in the last few hours.

"Quinn?"

She looks up and finds Rachel crossing the grass towards the swings. Quinn nods and forces a half smile before her eyes are dragged down again. She sees Rachel's feet arrive before her and a few moments later disappear as the other girl takes a seat on the only other swing.

"Well, I stopped by your house this morning to have a serious talk about exactly what you'd told Santana …" she begins.

"You stopped by my house?"

"Don't worry Quinn, I was going to tell your mother that I needed to talk to you about something for Cheerios" Rachel assures her, "and anyway she didn't answer the door, someone who looked a lot like her answered. A relative?"

"My Aunt Jane."

"I didn't know you had an aunt." Rachel said.

"Apparently my father chased her off when I turned eight."

Rachel waits a moment but Quinn doesn't elaborate so she continues, "Anyway, I was going to talk to you about your conversation with Santana, but it looks like you have bigger problems."

"How did you find me?" Quinn asks.

"I called Santana. She said you used to come here when you needed to get away from things."

They sit for a few minutes in silence before Rachel gets up the courage to ask the question she's been dreading since she saw Quinn looking so dejected. "Are you… are you having second thoughts about us?"

"God no Rach" Quinn blurts out reaching a hand out to Rachel, "It's not about us."

Rachel sighs with relief but she's still concerned about the other girl, "Do you want to talk about it? Having someone to listen might help."

Quinn nods and takes a moment to collect her thoughts, "You've met my Aunt Jane." Rachel nods so she continues, "Dad chased her off at my eighth birthday party. She brought a friend who was, as it turns out, her girlfriend and Dad didn't like that. After he chased them off and refused to let them visit they moved to Columbus and got married."

"Well that's good isn't it?" Rachel asks, "You have someone who you can talk to who'll be able to understand what you're going through."

"That's not the problem" Quinn says, "They might be coming back to Lima."

"Might?"

"It's sort of my decision. They have jobs and everything lined up and Aunt Jane's visiting this weekend to look at houses, she's staying with Mom and me for the visit. But if they actually come back is up to me."

Rachel looks a little confused, "Did they think you might have problems with them being gay?"

Quinn takes a deep breath to calm herself, "The reason they might be coming back is so I can get to know their child, their adopted baby girl." She looks up at Rachel who's looking back at her blankly and says the one word that explains everything, "Beth."

They sit for a few minutes as Quinn lets that last piece of information sink in. She hears a young boy shouting "I want to play on the swings mommy" and looks up to see the little boy towing his mother across the park. Since they are sitting on the only two swings on the playground, Quinn and Rachel stand and Quinn leads the way over to a nearby bench.

"So your aunt and her wife adopted Beth and now want to move back to let you be part of her life?" Rachel asks. When Quinn nods, the brunette asks "I thought the adoption was closed."

"Apparently not. My Mom had told Aunt Jane about everything when I was pregnant and Aunt Jane and her wife talked it over before suggesting to my Mom that they adopt Beth. I wasn't too keen on discussing things with social services and since I was still technically underage, they talked to Mom when she approached them." Quinn said.

"Isn't this a good thing? You'll get to be a part of Beth's life." Quinn just shrugs and shakes her head so Rachel asks "If I'd asked yesterday if you would like a chance to be in her life, what would you have said?"

"Yes" Quinn says without a moment's thought.

"So what changed?"

Quinn is silent for a while "Yesterday there was no chance it would actually happen, it was a dream. Today… today it could actually happen, it's my decision and…" she trails off.

"And you're scared." Rachel finishes, it's not a question.

Quinn nods, "What if she hates me? What if she's better off without me? What if she doesn't want to know me? What if I'm bad for her? I mean look at me, a teenager in high school that got drunk and knocked up. What kind of example is that?"

Rachel reaches out and takes one of Quinn's hands in her own, "You're so much more than that Quinn and you can't let one mistake define you especially when you're this young, you still have your whole life ahead of you. Who knows what you might achieve or become? And yes it might have been a mistake getting pregnant, but look what came of that. You brought a life into this world, a beautiful perfect little girl that wouldn't have been here without you. That's something to be proud of Quinn."

"You think?"

Rachel nods, "And Beth won't hate you either, she's only a few months old and doesn't know how to hate right now. And if you choose to be part of her life, she'll grow up knowing that you love her and did what was best for her at the time."

"You think I should do it?" Quinn asks.

"I can't answer that for you Quinn, but if I were you? Yes, I'd do it. Isn't it worth taking the chance?" Quinn nods and there's a few moments silence before Rachel asks, "What about Puck?"

"I never even thought about him. But I guess if she's going to be in Lima, he can decide for himself if he wants to get involved." Quinn says.

"So you're going to agree to them moving back?" Rachel asks.

"Yeah, I think so." Quinn nods, "Thanks Rach." She adds giving Rachel's hand a squeeze. "Will you come with me and tell Aunt Jane?"

"I'd love to." Rachel smiles.

* * *

They arrive back at Quinn's house and open the front door to the smell of breakfast, bacon to be precise and Quinn's mouth is already watering at the smell. She hears Rachel sigh and mutter something about "poor baby pigs" and grabs her hand before leading her towards the kitchen.

"Mom? Aunt Jane?"

"In the kitchen Quinn." Jane calls out to them, "Judy's out for breakfast with some of her friends, but you're just in time for bacon."

Quinn rounds the door into the kitchen, Rachel still in hand. "Did Mom tell you I like bacon?"

"She said if you ever went missing, just stick some bacon in the pan and you'd be in the kitchen before it was done." Jane looks up smiling and see's Rachel, "Ah, your little friend found you then?"

"Rachel, this is my Aunt Jane. Aunt Jane, this is Rachel. She's my…"

"Girlfriend?" Jane interrupts with a smile and then she looks a little surprised when she sees both girls turn pale and their jaws drop. "OK, that was supposed to be a joke, but I presume I was close to the truth?"

"Yeah" Quinn recovers, "We've only been together for, well not even a week. Last night was our first official date to be honest."

"And Judy doesn't know?" Jane asks, when Quinn just nods she adds "Well she was wondering why you were taking flowers on a date, usually that's the boys job."

"She knew it was a date?"

"She may be your mother but she's not an idiot Quinn. She said you were all done up and had a large bouquet of flowers in your car. Two and two does occasionally make four, even for these old heads" Jane says tapping the side of her head. "And don't worry, I won't tell her anything if you don't want me to."

"I – I just don't know how she'd take it." Quinn says

Jane nods sympathetically, "Understandable Quinn, but I think you're underestimating her. You don't know how much it hurt her when your father kicked you out. And like she said last night, she's never had a problem with me."

"You're her sister, not her daughter." Quinn observes.

"Well it's up to you, as I said I won't let anything slip. But if you need someone to talk to, you know where I am." Jane says.

There's silence in the kitchen apart from the sizzling of bacon and Jane asks, "Bacon for you too Rachel?"

"Thank you Mrs.. um…"

"Just call me Jane."

"Thank you Jane, but I'm vegan so no thank you."

"Ah OK. How about some pancakes then? I think I saw some soya milk in the fridge."

Rachel agrees eventually. Even though she claims to have had breakfast already Jane doesn't like the two of them sitting eating while Rachel looks on, so she accepts some vegan pancakes, impressed that Jane even thought to use a clean pan and utensils to make them. Once they are all sitting down eating, Quinn decides it's time to tell Jane what they came to tell her.

"Aunt Jane, I've been thinking a lot about what we talked about last night. And I talked it over with Rachel too" She smiles at the other girl who reaches out and takes her hand, "I think I'd like to be involved in Beth's life, so yes, I'd like it if you'd move back."

Jane smiles and nods, "Good. I wasn't going to force you Quinn, but I think you're making the right decision. I think it'll do you both good to be able to spend time together and to be in each others lives. And Kirsty will love having a babysitter we can trust for some nights."

"When will you be moving?" Quinn asks.

"If everything goes to plan and we find a nice place to live, about a month." Jane says, "We'll be here for Christmas. But we can bring her to visit sooner if you'd like, maybe for a weekend in a couple of weeks?"

"Yeah, I'd like that" Quinn says, then asks nervously "Do you have a photo I could see?"

Jane nods and leaves the kitchen only to return a few moments later to hand Quinn two photos. One is of Jane, another woman who Quinn assumes in Kirsty and a little blonde girl. The other is a close up of the baby herself, still being held in the two women's arms.

"You can keep those ones if you want, we have plenty of copies." Jane says, "We have better shots but those are the ones I happen to have with me."

Quinn can't believe the little girl in this photo is the same one that is in her arms in the photo Rachel took, she's grown so much in so little time.

"She's beautiful" she says, showing the picture to Rachel.

Rachel agrees, "Yes she is. Just like you."

* * *

**Authors Footnote:** So I thought I'd mention why Beth is with Aunt Jane and not Shelby. The simple fact is that I wanted Beth in the story, but didn't want to deal with the whole Rachel/Shelby thing, that's been done to death as far as I'm concerned. And it let me introduce a gay couple for Quinn to talk to if she needs to (other than Rachel's Dads who she still can't look in the eye).


	27. Chapter 27

**Authors Note:** I don't know how to tell you all how good it is to read your reviews. I'm glad Aunt Jane has gone down so well and that you all like having Beth back. I'm not sure I've done justice to Sue below, so if it doesn't stand up to the real thing as it were, just image Sue stalking around her office ranting :)

Now where were we, oh yes, Monday...

* * *

With the excitement and shock of the weekend, the girls had totally forgotten about the mysterious balloon giver right until they arrived at Rachel's locker before homeroom and found not one, but a dozen red heart shaped balloons tied around the lock. Rachel stops in the middle of the corridor and Quinn is following so close she almost walks straight into her. Quinn draws her eyes away from the sight at the locker and looks at the diva, finding her standing hands on hips, foot tapping, lips pressed together and forehead creased as she glares at the items that seem to have offended her so badly.

Rachel drags her backpack off her shoulders and digs inside for a few moments, coming up with a small box.

"What's that?" Quinn asks.

"Emergency sewing kit."

"Emergency… You really are ready for anything, aren't you Berry?" Santana observes.

"I try."

She opens the kit and draws out the largest needle, shoving the box and her backpack into Quinn's surprised hands. She marches over to her locker and starts popping the balloons.

"This" *pop* "is" *pop* "really" *pop* "starting" *pop* "to" *pop* "annoy" *pop* "me." *pop*

"I still think it's cute" Brittany says

"Maybe if it was Qu…" Rachel catches herself and looks around in case anyone caught her slip before continuing, "someone I cared about that was doing it. But some weird stalker is no fun."

She finishes popping the balloons and uses a small pair of scissors from the kit to cut the ribbons. She gathers all the rubbish together and dumps it in the nearest bin.

"And anyway, I much prefer flowers." She says, sending a little smile to Quinn.

She opens a locker and jumps back as another half dozen balloons pop out and float up towards the ceiling, their ribbons taped to the inside of the door.

"Oh for fucks sake…"

Rachel shakes her head and slumps against the next locker, resting her forehead against the cold steel, right now all she wants to do is find whoever is doing this to her and tell them to take a long walk off a short pier. Santana does the honours with pin, rips the tape from the back of the door and while she's taking the remains to the bin, Quinn finds the card inside the locker.

She tries to hand it to Rachel but she just mumbles, "You open it."

Quinn opens the expensive envelope and finds another one of those generic 'I Love You' cards inside. She flips it over and reads the handwritten message inside.

"It says 'See you soon – X'"

"Ha! Whoever it is isn't going to like it when I find out who they are." Rachel says.

At just about that moment Quinn feels a presence behind her and she sees Rachel's face stiffen. She turns and finds Finn standing behind her looking at the brunette with an expression on his face that could either be deep thought or constipation, Quinn was never sure which and couldn't be bothered to put in the energy to figure it out.

"Rach, can I talk to you?"

She reaches out with one hand and shoves him in the chest, trying to make him step back which he does more out of surprise than anything else, "Now isn't the time Finnept." She says putting as much of her HBIC attitude into it as she can.

Finn looks at her with an expression that she assumes is supposed to be a glare but looks more like he's about to wet himself, "This is nothing to do with you Quinn, I need to talk to Rachel so just leave us alone and get lost."

Quinn feels Santana step up behind her, silently offering the HBIC her support, and she opens her mouth, taking a breath to put Finn right in his place but before she can get a word out a brunette, white and red blur shoots past her, ripping the forgotten card from her hand in the process and appears the canon into the giant's chest. Two seconds later, Finn is on his ass in the corridor looking up at a very angry diva.

"Is this your idea of a joke Finn Hudson?!" She demands brandishing the card at him, "Can you still not get it through that thick lump of bone you call a skull that I'm done with you?! You have to play stalker for a week before you gather enough courage to have me reject you again?"

Rachel's in full on rant mode and Quinn is a little impressed and a little turned on to be honest. Apparently Santana agrees, at least on the impressed part.

"Damn, for a midget she sure can be scary." The Latino observes.

Brittany settles for "So hot."

Rachel has missed this exchange and is still ranting at Finn who's still sitting on the floor and is now cowering a little.

"Well get this through whatever you have between those cauliflower ears Finn, I'd rather go on a date with Jacob Ben Israel than you right now and there's no way in hell I'm going out with him. So quit making a fool out of yourself and LEAVE ME ALONE" she'd been taking deliberate steps towards Finn as she's been talking, forcing him to shuffle back along the floor until he'd reached a well. After shouting the last three words at him, Rachel throws the now crumpled card she's been brandishing at him and turns to march back to the other girls.

Finn picks up the crumpled card and looks at it confused. He looks up at Rachel's retreating form and says, "Eh, I didn't send you this."

Rachel whirls round and glares at him, "What?!"

"I didn't send you this, or do the thing with the balloons. I had nothing to do with them."

Rachel sighs and brings one hand to her forehead and turns back to Quinn, "Just get lost Finn."

* * *

It wasn't until lunch that Quinn had an opportunity to speak to Puck. She'd told Rachel what she was going to tell him and had turned out the offer of the diva being there just in case she needed the help. This was something she had to do herself she explained. She finds him near his locker obviously flirting with one of the Cheerios.

"Giving up on Lauren already?" she asks, glaring at the Cheerios who gets the message and does a disappearing act.

"Hey Baby Mama, you know I'm always here for you if you need an itch scratching." Quinn can't help notice Puck leering at her.

"If I have an itch" she says, "it's probably because I caught something off of you."

"Hey, the Puckasaurus is clean!" he begins but Quinn interrupts him.

"Look, I need to talk to you."

She looks around, spots an empty room and heads for it. Puck follows and she closes the door when they are both inside.

"So?" Puck asks.

"You'd better sit down."

"This better be important, you ruined my chances there…"

"Puck, shut up and listen." When she's sure he's taken the hint she continues, "I don't really know how to say this so I'm just going to give you the facts." Quinn pauses and takes a deep breath, "I found out this weekend that my Aunt Jane and her wife adopted Beth. Their coming back to Lima so I can be part of her life. And you too, if you want."

She waits a moment and when Puck just sits there she adds, "If you want, no one's going to force you and you don't need to make a choice right now obviously, they'll be here whenever you decide. Their visiting for the weekend in a couple of weeks, so you could drop by on Saturday or Sunday if you decide you want to."

Puck still hasn't said anything or moved really, so she crouches down before him and gets a good look at his face, "Puck, are you… crying?"

* * *

Today was the day, it wasn't the end but it was definitely the start of the end and Sue was going to make sure she got to enjoy every second of it. One more period till the glee club practice and it would start, she wondered how it would go, a bang or a whimper? Either way was good after all the effort she'd had to put in to get this to work, all the ideas wasted because of that damn diva. Now all she needed is someone to…

"Becky! Get in here!" Sue yelled.

She'd seen the blur of white and red pass her office door and wherever she was going was less important than listening to Sue Sylvester brag. The Cheerio comes through the door with a cheery "Yes Coach?" and takes the seat Sue waves at before the coach turns and starts pacing the office.

"Today's the day Becky, the beginning of the end of that damn club. A stroke of sheer genius I tell you, oh I'm good, I'm very good. If it wasn't for that damn Streisand it would have been done weeks ago, but oh no, her and her 'Terms and Conditions', no going after glee club, no scheduling Cheerio events at the same time as glee events, as if they are important! No this, no that, no the other. If I hadn't been so damn desperate for a flyer, should never have tricked her into joining. So many good plans foiled by one piece of paper." Sue sighs and shakes her head, "Where did she learn to write an agreement like that? It sure wasn't in this school."

"Why not kick her off the team then coach?" Becky risks asking.

"Ah, you're a girl after my own heart Becky. I considered it, oh I did consider it, but she was too damn good. That's the problem." Sue turns and gestures at the Sectionals trophy on the shelf, "She won that you know? We'd have been done but for her flinging herself around. Not even I knew she'd be that good and I knew she'd be good. I'd have kicked her off as soon as blink otherwise."

Sue sighs, dragging her eyes away from the trophy, "And now my four best Cheerios are in that damn club! It's intolerable, intolerable I say! It can't go on, it won't go on!" she declares as she pounds the desk. "PFLAG meetings of all things. Me! Going to PFLAG meetings! I've got better things to do on a Wednesday. And now I'm stuck with her and her 'terms and conditions' because she's so damn good."

Sue shakes her head and then stands straight taking a deep breath and the smirk that is as close as Sue can come to a smile returns to her face. "Still, there's nothing Sue Sylvester likes more than a challenge and I've bested her on this one. It took time but I've won. And you know what Becky? If anyone asks I was just trying to help! Innocent little me just trying to help them out!"

Sue almost doubles over laughing but collects herself after a few moments, "This is going to be good Becky, you mark my words, this is going to be good."

Sue walks around her desk and sits in her chair like it's a throne surveying the room before her. She notices Becky still sitting silent in her chair.

"Well? What are you doing? Shoo! Shoo!" she says with shooing motions with her hands.

* * *

The four girls met as agreed in the girl's restroom nearest the choir room before Glee practice. They couldn't decide if they should arrive early and watch people as they arrived, or arrive late and look for reactions when the four girls arrived. In the end Rachel won and they arrived more or less on time, almost everyone else was late. Almost. They find Kurt and Mercedes sitting in the back row with expectant looks on their faces. Quinn raises an eyebrow in their direction.

"Don't look at us" says Kurt raising his hands in the classic don't shoot pose.

"We just wanted to make sure we didn't miss the fireworks." Mercedes supplies.

Quinn shares a look with Rachel and shrugs and the four girls make their way to their seats, back row of course and the opposite side to where Kurt and Mercedes are. Santana and Brittany have their heads together probably whispering sweet nothings to each other but apparently relaxed. Quinn is sitting alert, looking around and watching the people passing the doors while Rachel sits next to her, head down nervously playing with her fingers.

Slowly the rest of the club arrives in ones and two and they're all sitting tense but quiet in their seats. They all know about the cards and the balloons and they know Rachel lost her rag at Finn that morning and they are all wondering who would be on the receiving end of a similar, and probably much worse, outburst now.

After a few minutes of silence Rachel stands, hands on hips and glares at them all. "Well?"

This is the moment that Mr Shue picks to arrive and he looks up in confusion when Santana greets him with "Nice timing Mr Shue".

"Um, thanks Santana." He says, then gestures to the door, "We've got a new member today so everyone please make him welcome."

All eyes turn to the door and a figure steps forward.

"Dios mio."

"Jesse St-fucking-James."

* * *

**Authors Footnote: **Do you think Puck would cry just a little? I think he's got a bit of a soft side for his kid, which father wouldn't? So he'd probably not admit it, but I think he would.

How would you like to see Jessie handled? A quick drop-kick out of the school or a more drawn out affair? I've got ideas for either way so let me know.


	28. Chapter 28

**Authors Note: **Wow, you guys really really don't like Jesse huh? An overwhelming request for a short and sweet drop kick to nowhere there. And a few surprised reviewers there too, glad I'm not being predictable.

Thanks again to you all for your reviews, I've had a great time reading them all especially for the last few chapters.

And so, on with the story...

* * *

"What the fuck?!"

It was Santana that broke the silence. Quinn and Rachel were too dumbstruck to react at that point though that wouldn't last long. Through all their conversations about who the mysterious suitor was, no one had ever thought of St James and his sudden appearance had knocked them both for six.

"Didn't you graduate last year?"

A good point, Jesse had been a senior during that event when he and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline had egged Rachel. And remembering that was the point that Quinn started to get seriously pissed.

The boy just shrugs, never taking his eyes off of Rachel, "The coach decided I was too good to lose so persuaded some of the teachers to fail me."

"And you're here because?" Quinn was in full HBIC Ice Queen Mode and even Santana took a step back, the question came out deliberately, quietly and full of ice.

"I don't appreciate being screwed over by anyone" he said finally tearing his eyes from Rachel only to glare at Quinn, "So first chance I got I found somewhere different to be. And I figured your little group could do with someone with undeniable talent and four consecutive National championships under his belt."

"Oh Hell No" Mercedes is the next to react, "There's only one space in this club for an egotistical narcissistic diva and that spots taken. No offense Rachel."

There's a moment of stillness and then Brittany's confused voice breaks the silence, "Isn't that redundant?" she asks causing almost everyone to look at her in surprise.

Almost.

Quinn is still glaring at Jesse and looks seriously pissed at this point, flexing her hands as if she'd like to nothing more than wrap them warmly around his neck and shake. She's pretty sure that this jackass was the one sending Rachel balloons and cards but she's stuck unable to do anything about it or everyone in glee club will be wondering why she's getting involved. And she's pretty sure that right now Rachel doesn't want to advertise their relationship to the Glee club, well to those that don't already know about it anyway. She's also nervously wondering what Rachel's reaction to this slime ball will be. She's keenly aware that it took some time for Rachel to warm up to the idea of them and this was the first major test because at one point Rachel really did like Jesse. She didn't count Finn because, well Finn didn't count.

Up until this point Rachel had been staring blankly at Jesse and then her brow wrinkled in deep thought in that way Quinn thought was so adorable, not that she'd ever admit to thinking that.

"You set up the balloons didn't you? You sent the cards?" They were more accusations than questions, but neither Rachel's tone nor her face betrayed any emotion. "Why?"

"Look Rachel, I know things didn't necessarily end well for us…" he begins

"My biological mother used you to get to me then rejected me. Then you used me to get to the glee club and then you smashed an egg into my forehead after your compatriots had flung a dozen more at me! And you know I'm a vegan!" Her voice had started low but had steadily rose through the rant until she was almost shouting, "It didn't start, continue or end well for us Jesse!"

"But I figured we were worth giving it another go." He said apparently unfazed by Rachel's outburst, "You're still you and I'm still the amazing me after all" he finishes with a smirk.

"So you really think I'm that naive or needy? Don't answer that! You have caused me enough torment and grief in one year of Highschool to last a lifetime!" Rachel's voice was low and deliberate, a little husky and Quinn though it was hot. "So listen carefully St Jackass, you can take your balloons and your cards, your smug attitude and your ginormous ego and you can stick them all where the sun doesn't shine. You have exactly zero chance with me, so please do us both a favor and don't even try." Rachel had been deliberately marching toward Jesse so that he had to back up until he was against the wall and she punctuates the last three words by poking a finger at his chest. When she's done she turns and heads back across the room.

And Quinn isn't so worried anymore because it's obvious that Rachel's not interested in Jesse anymore and that fact should be obvious even to Jesse. And Brittany was right, it is kinda hot when Rachel gets angry.

"But Rach." Jesse begins.

"No!" Rachel interrupts spinning around to face him again, "If you value your junk, you'll shut the hell up!"

"You wouldn't!"

"Maybe not, but I'm sure I could get Santana to."

"Hell yeah" Santana agrees from across the room and Jesse turns a little pale.

"You don't talk to me, you don't approach me, hell you don't even look at me." Rachel demands, "I may not be able to get you kicked out of this school, but I sure as hell can pretend you don't exist."

Jesse just sneers at her, "That'll make Glee club a little difficult won't it?"

"Why? You're not joining Glee club, so no."

"Now Rachel, you know Glee club accepts anyone who auditions." Mr Shue puts in with exactly the wrong sentiment at exactly the wrong time, as always.

"Well maybe that should change." Rachel said glaring at him. She turns, hands on hips, and surveys the students sitting on the risers. "As Glee Club Captain, I propose a new rule. Any student can be excluded from the club with the agreement of 75% of current student members."

"Seconded." Quinn says automatically.

Rachel smiles at Quinn and continues, "All in favor?"

Everyone except Finn puts their hands up. Quinn glares at Puck who's sitting next to Finn and he elbows Finn who eventually raises his arm.

"Under this new rule I propose the exclusion of Jesse St James" Rachel had hardly got the sentence out before everyone's hands shoot up, even Finn's this time.

"Rachel, this really isn't appropriate…" Mr Shue begins.

Rachel spins to face him, "It's either him or me Mr Shue, I will not be in the same room as him if I can avoid it and I'm pretty sure the rest of the club would prefer me! So make your choice."

"If she goes, I go" says Quinn

"Us too" says Santana, looking to Brittany for confirmation and the other girl nods.

A number of the other members follow suit and Mr Shue's shoulders slump in defeat. "Fine. Sorry Jesse." He says turning towards Jesse only to find the boy has already left.

* * *

No one had felt like practicing after the Jesse incident and so the Glee Club had broken up for the day. Given it was Monday the four Cheerios had headed somewhere they were sure not to run in to Jesse, the Cheerios locker room, and spend the time until practice just hanging out there chatting.

Cheerio practice itself had been hell. Coach Sylvester was seriously pissed at something and took devilish delight at taking it out on the Cheerios, and for once even Quinn wasn't left out, until finally she demands that they "get the hell off of my field" through her loudhailer before sending the device spinning away to shatter against a brick wall and marching away.

Rachel, Quinn, Santana and Brittany had been last to leave the field, someone needed to clean up and put away all the equipment and when Quinn had started, the others had joined in without comment. At least that meant they could grab a shower and head home without any drama, given all the other girls had already gone.

Quinn was in her shower stall letting the hot water relax her muscles and thanking everything holy that Sue had demanded a decent hot water system for just the Cheerio's locker when she feels a momentary draft and hears the stall door shut and lock again. She's about to turn when she feels two hands on resting on her hips.

"Santana? That better not be you."

She feels the hands slip off her hips and across her skin until two arms are wrapped around her and a small body is pressed against her back, a small naked body.

"Rach?"

"Would you prefer it to be Santana?" Rachel asks with an amused note in her voice.

"Oh hell no."

Quinn tries to turn but Rachel stops her, the smaller girl's hands sliding over the skin of Quinn's stomach and the diva's lips pressing into her shoulder and neck. One hand slides down over her stomach and ends between her legs and Quinn is embarrassed by the whimper she can't help but produce at the contact.

"Rach, is this wise?" Quinn gasps, against her better judgment.

"There's just you and me here Quinn, everyone else has gone."

Just as Rachel finishes they hear a distinct moan followed by a different girl giggling.

"Apart from Brittany and Santana." Quinn observes.

"True, but they seem to be busy."

Rachel starts slowly moving her hand back and forward between Quinn's legs, she's not pressing hard, barely touching Quinn to be honest, but even the subtle touch combined with the naked body pressed against her back and the warm water still running over both of their bodies causes Quinn to go from exhausted to seriously turned on within seconds and she can't help but moan as the diva touches her.

"God Rach, that feels so good…"

Suddenly any reservations as to their current location are forgotten and Quinn really, really needs Rachel to keep doing exactly what she's doing, just about a dozen times harder. And as if the diva can read Quinn's mind, Rachel does just that, sliding her fingers back and forward through Quinn's folds and the blonde can't help but rock her hips, rubbing herself against the other girl's hand.

"I love the way you feel between my fingers" Rachel whispers her lips millimeters from Quinn's ear.

Quinn was pretty sure she was about to die from sensory overload, the press of Rachel's body against her back, the hot water still cascading over the pair, the diva's hand between her thighs and the other that had slid up her body to cup her breast were all driving the blonde wild. She was gripping the handrail on the wall so hard that she thought that she might dent the steel it was made from. And now Rachel was sucking on Quinn's neck and the blonde knew she'd have a huge hicky tomorrow but she could bring herself to care. The fact that the diva wanted her, wanted to mark her, made anything else irrelevant.

Rachel's thumb found Quinn's clit and the blonde let out a moan of pleasure that rivalled anything that she'd heard coming from any room that Santana and Brittany were alone in. And the thought popped in to Quinn's head that at any moment someone could walk into the locker room and catch them which just made everything so much more intense. She just needed a little more, she just needed…

"Rach" she gasps, "I need… I need…"

Rachel's ears brush the blonde's ear, "What do you need baby? Tell me what you want."

"Inside… I need you… inside me. Please!" Quinn wasn't above begging right now. If Rachel decided to stop for some reason there was no way Quinn was going to be able to walk out of this stall before taking care of herself. And that was never going to be as good as…

Rachel's fingers caressed the length of Quinn's folds before they found their target and two slipped easily and deeply into Quinn. The blonde made a sound that was almost primal and then Rachel started moving, sliding her fingers in and out of the blonde, deeper each time and if Quinn's eyes hadn't been tightly shut for the last five minutes, she's pretty sure they'd have bugged right out of her head.

Quinn shudders and the diva feels it around her fingers, the blonde is so close she doesn't even have to tell Rachel, she can feel it. One last stroke of her thumb over Quinn's clit, one last squeeze to her nipple and a crooking of the fingers inside the blonde just so…

Quinn's whole body freezes as if every muscle suddenly locked up and then every part of her is shaking, her mind and body flooded with the pleasure of her release and she screams Rachel's name as she comes, not caring if anyone heard her. She slumps back into the other girl and all she can hear over the running water is Rachel's pleased giggle.

* * *

**Authors Footnote:** Is Jesse gone or will he stick around and try to cause trouble? He needs to finish his last year after all and I doubt he'd want to do that at his previous school. Time will tell.


	29. Chapter 29

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the day, I've had a little but of fun writing a one-shot called "New York Hot", check it out from my profile but do read the summary first, it might not be to everyone's taste.

Also check out the story "I'll Be" from FanFication author stix04. No I don't know the author and I'm not just punting his stuff, but this has to be the most amazing story I've read on this site. Well work checking out.

* * *

Quinn had three priorities that Tuesday as she walked through the door to the school. First find Rachel, second find Santana and third find Puck. Actually she wasn't too bothered about the order she found Puck and Santana, but Rachel always came first in her mind. Rachel had another one of those mystery classes that she wouldn't tell Quinn anything about after school today, so they'd ridden to school in separate cars, even though Quinn had offered to drop the other girl off and either wait for her or go back for her later.

In the end Quinn relented because she didn't want to appear to be one of those girls that absolutely had to be with someone all the time, even if that was the case. Quinn mulls the possibility of Rachel getting tired of her and telling her to get lost and she can't help the shiver she feels run down her spine. She pushes the thought out of her mind, worry about that if the time comes, and returns to her search for the little diva.

Not very surprisingly she finds Rachel at her locker and manages to fill her second priority in order because Santana and Brittany are with her. She can't see any balloons or balloon remains and neither Rachel nor Santana seem overly pissed. A quick glance around shows no sign of St Jackass hanging about either. Not a bad morning all in all. So far.

She walks up to the group, nodding at Santana and Brittany and looks to the diva, "Hi."

Rachel spins around and her face breaks into one of those smiles that Quinn will never admit makes her heart melt. Rachel's arms twitch as if she wants to reach out and hug the other girl but is resisting the impulse. Quinn knows how Rachel feels because it's the way she feels most of the time.

"Hi"

"No unwanted locker decorations?" Quinn asks looking up at Rachel's locker.

"Nothing today" Rachel says.

Santana smirks and glances around, "Just as well, he's not going to get away with hassling my midget." She opines.

"My midget?" Rachel spins round again and looks at Santana in surprise.

"You know what I mean" Santana huffs, she takes Brittany by the arm and indicates the corridor with her head, "Let's go babe."

Quinn and Rachel watch the pair stalk along the corridor away from them, Santana pushing a freshman who wasn't fast enough on his feet out of her way.

Quinn sighs, "Our little girl has grown up."

Rachel can't help but chuckle, "And if she hears you saying that, she'll give you a close up of 'going all Lima Heights'."

"True" Quinn nods.

"So this Friday." Rachel says turning to Quinn, "You, me, date. My turn to take you out."

Quinn's face falls as Rachel asks her, "I'm sorry Rach, I can't, not this weekend. Aunt Jane called and their bringing Beth this weekend."

"I thought they were coming back in two weeks?"

Quinn shakes her head, "Things went so well with Mom and me. And Aunt Jane saw a place she loves, they want to make sure Aunt Kirsty gets a chance to see it and make an offer before someone else snaps it up."

"It's ok Quinn" Rachel realizes her hand is on Quinn's arm but she doesn't move it, "We'll do it next weekend."

Quinn nods then, as if she remembers something, she pulls out her phone. "They sent some pictures, do you want to see?"

Rachel and Quinn huddle around the small screen on the phone and ooh and aah over various photos of Beth, Beth and Jane, Beth and Kirsty and Beth and Jane and Kirsty with Beth at various stages of growth over the last few months.

"She's gorgeous Quinn, just like her mother."

Quinn blushes a little and then she has an idea, "Why don't you come round on Friday? They'll be arriving around eight and you can meet Beth and Kirsty."

Rachel doesn't look convinced, "Won't your Mom find that a bit odd?"

But Quinn just shrugs, "You were there when she was borne and you took the only photo I had for long enough. And back then we weren't really friends, at least now we can claim that if she asks."

"OK, I'll be there." Rachel agrees and Quinn sighs a little in relief. The bell for homeroom rings and Rachel takes one last look at the photo on the phone. "I still can't believe Puck had anything to do with her." She says shaking her head, "Are you sure it wasn't an immaculate conception?"

* * *

Despite her to-do list, it's Puck that find Quinn after first period.

"Hey Baby Mama."

"Puck."

Puck puts his hand on Quinn's arm to stop her and they step over to the side of the corridor and Quinn can't help but notice that Puck looks rather nervous.

"What is it Puck?"

"Were you serious?" He asks swallowing, "about Beth."

Quinn feels her face soften and she reaches out, placing a reassuring hand on his arm, "Look Puck, I've done plenty of things I'm not proud of and lying to everyone about Beth's father being pretty high up there on the list. But now, when it comes to Beth, I'm going to always be one hundred percent honest with you." She gives his arm a squeeze before continuing. "If you want to be in Beth's life you'll be welcome. I think it would be good for all of us if you were, but I'm not going to force you."

Puck nods and takes a breath, "I think I'd like to meet her."

"My aunts are bringing her down this weekend rather than next" she says with a smile, "I'm going to be babysitting on Saturday afternoon so my Aunts can look at houses and have some time to themselves and my Mom is away for the whole weekend at one of her retreats."

Quinn secretly thought this was the reason her Aunts had moved their visit forward, her Aunt Jane didn't like the idea of her being alone for the weekend even though she was only just back in Quinn's life. To be honest Quinn likes the feeling that someone in her family is willing to go out of the way to look after her.

"Why don't you come over then? It'll just be you and me and Beth."

"OK" Puck nods, "Around two?"

"Come at noon, If you can get up that early" Quinn smiles, "You can have lunch and meet my Aunts."

They say their see-you-laters and Quinn turns, mentally checking off 'Tell Puck about the change of plans' from her to-do list.

* * *

"He's still here."

"Who?"

Rachel had come out of her previous class like a rocket and headed straight for Quinn.

"St James" she said, "He was in my last class."

Quinn shakes her head, "You didn't expect him to leave did you? I doubt he'd give up that easily."

"True, but I didn't expect him to be staring at me in class" Rachel huff.

Quinn looks thoughtful, "How did you know he was staring at you?" she asks, "Unless you were staring at him."

"I was not staring!" Rachel huffs stamping her foot, "And you're taking this way too lightly Quinn."

Quinn considers letting Rachel in on exactly what she has planned for a certain St Jackass, but she comes up with the same result as she had every time she's considered this. Rachel was just too nice and despite not liking the boy, she wouldn't let Quinn follow her plan. That was also the reason she hadn't talked to Santana when they were all together before homeroom that morning, which reminds her…

Quinn checks that there's no one within earshot, "Look Honey" and she loves the instant blush that the term brings to Rachel's cheeks, "One thing I'm not doing is taking this lightly, trust me."

"What are you up to Quinn?" the diva demands.

"Basic recon Sue style. Figure out where he is when he is, and make sure we're somewhere else. Plus generally keep an eye on him."

"Is that all?" Rachel asks suspiciously.

"For the moment" which is true since Quinn hasn't had a chance to bring Santana up to speed on her plans yet, "but if he tries anything, the gloves are off Rach. I won't have him messing with you" she pauses and tilts her head the way she does when she's thinking "or the glee club."

Rachel nods and both girls head off to their next class.

* * *

Quinn finally had a chance to speak to Santana without Rachel around at lunch time. The diva was in the auditorium practicing and had chased Quinn out when the blonde had taken the seclusion as an opportunity to do some practicing of her own. And while a little moaning might have been involved in Quinn's preferred practice session, that didn't fulfill Rachel's requirements.

She tracks down Santana and Brittany under the bleachers doing stuff that only Santana and Brittany would to in public. She tries to attract Santana's attention without sticking her nose where it isn't wanted, and where she definitely doesn't want to stick it, but when subtlety doesn't work she finally has to be more direct.

"When you two are quite done, I need to speak to you Santana."

After a few moans and groans she got a response from the girl, "I got that Q, I was just ignoring it."

"Santana!" She put her full HBIC-on-the-warpath tone into the word and Santana sighs.

"Give me a minute."

A few moments later Santana appears licking her fingers. Quinn rolls her eyes, "Please tell me you were eating lunch with your fingers."

"I was eating lunch with my fingers." Santana says in a tone that clearly indicate that she was doing anything but.

"Remind me not to shake your hand any time soon."

"Why did you interrupt my 'lunch' Quinn?" Santana says looking totally unamused.

"We need to talk about what we're going to do about him."

Santana just looks at Quinn and knows immediately who she's talking about. "St James?"

"Yeah, I don't think he'll give up, either on the Glee club or on Rachel. And I'm not going to sit here and let him do it."

"Does Rachel know about this?"

"She knows I'm keeping an eye on him."

"But that's not all you're planning." Santana says, it's not a question.

Quinn nods, "Are you in?"

"I'm in." Santana agrees.

The two girls put their heads together and start working out the details.

* * *

Rachel is headed to her last class of the day when she's passed in the corridor by Asimio who happens to be carrying a Big Gulp cup. Her mind shoots back to the slushy facials she used to get on a regular basis, but when Asimio passed with no more than a "Hi Rachel" she pulls herself together.

Asimio rounds the corner at the end of the corridor and after a second there's a splash, a rather girly shriek and a lot of laughing. Rachel sighs and, still a little thankful it's not her that's getting the facial, turns the corner to see if she can help whoever the unfortunate victim is.

She turns the corner and she come face to dripping face with a rather shocked and very sticky Jesse St James. She knows she shouldn't, but she can't help the giggle that escapes from her throat, she's pretty sure Asimio just made her day. Though on reflection she decided she wouldn't tell him that. She supposes she should feel sorry for Jesse but she can't find it in her, at least this time. This one she chalks up to payback for the eggs.

"The grape flavor is the worst" she says to Jesse, "It really stains the skin and clothes if you don't get it off quickly enough."

With another chuckle she walks past Jesse, leaving him dripping onto the floor.

* * *

Quinn and Rachel stand between their cars at the end of the day saying their goodbyes. They'll text each other and talk on the phone before they head to bed, but they never just part ways without taking a moment to tell each other they would see the other soon.

Rachel gets into her car and drives off, leaving Quinn to watch her go. But a few moments later Quinn is behind the wheel of her own car and following Rachel. They take a number of turns and are heading further into town, Quinn isn't sure yet where they are going, when Rachel suddenly pulls over right next to a play park.

Quinn pulls over to the other side of the road and waits to see what happens. A moment later Rachel appears from her car and stand with her hands on her hips looking back up the road. Quinn realizes that Rachel is looking at her and she can't help the blush that rises to her cheeks. She starts her car again and pulls up behind Rachel's. A moment later the diva is at her window.

"Did you really think I wouldn't recognize your car?" she asks.

"I didn't think you'd be looking" Quinn admits.

"You're not the only one with Sue's training now Quinn." Rachel says with a smile.

"You're not going to tell me where you're going, are you?"

"No" Rachel agrees, hands on her hips "And you're not going to follow me."

Quinn knows this Rachel. This is "don't argue with me, you won't win" Rachel, so she nods once and when Rachel steps back from the car she pulls out and heads home. Rachel watches her go with a smile and shakes her head before getting back into her car and driving off.


	30. Chapter 30

**Authors Note:** Thank you all for the reviews. They really mean a lot to me. Bit of a soppy chapter ahead now, might want to get the tissues out.

We're coming to a point in the story, maybe in a chapter to two, where I could cleanly end this story and continue the story line in a new story. If I do that, the new story would have longer chapters but would be updated less often. Oh and I still need a name for the new story. What do you think? Keep this story going or split it soon?

* * *

On Wednesday Rachel first notices Jesse as he climbs out of a dumpster he's obviously just been unceremoniously dumped in and then at lunch time she witnesses him receiving two Big Gulp cups in the face one after the other. He still hasn't made any attempt to approach her but she shows up at the door to the choir room at the beginning of Glee club only to be chased off by an angry Puck and an overly protective Santana. And the only reason Quinn wasn't chasing him was because Rachel had grabbed her hand when he appeared and wouldn't let go. Not that Quinn was complaining.

On Thursday Rachel didn't witness the dumpster dump but it happened and she eventually heard about it. She did witness one of the two slushy facials though and heard of the other. He didn't show up at Glee practice but that didn't mean he was done. It was on Friday, as Rachel watched a rumpled Jesse climbing out of the dumpster again that it finally clicked and she went to find Quinn.

"I know what you're doing." She says to the girls back as she finds her at her locker.

"Um, I'm getting ready for class?" it came out as a question rather than a statement as Quinn had originally intended.

"I meant to Jesse" Rachel says.

Quinn shrugs and continues digging through her locker, "I am not doing anything to Jesse" she unintentionally puts an emphasis on the 'I'.

"No, but you're having the football team and Cheerios and even the hockey team do it for you. Nobody suffers the continued assault that he has without you ordering it Quinn. I've been there remember?"

Quinn can't help but cringe because she's well aware that her girlfriend has been there, and worse that she ordered it then too. "I'm really sorry about that Rach." She says hanging her head.

Rachel just smiles a little, "I know Quinn and we're past that now. But I can't stand here and watch you do the same to him no matter how much I detest him." She takes a step forward and places her hand on Quinn's arm, "I know he's still going to get slushies because, yeah he pisses people off and that's the go-to response around here. But an orchestrated campaign intended to drive him into the dirt?" Rachel just shakes her head, "That just makes us as bad as he is Quinn."

"Okay Rach, I'll call off the dogs." Quinn says, "But if he does try anything I'm not going to just stand there and let him. I care about you and I'm not going to let him hurt you again."

Rachel just nods then Quinn adds "And I'm not responsible for anything Santana thinks up, you know what she's like."

Rachel just nods and makes a mental note to speak to Brittany, if anyone can control Santana it's the blonde.

"You're still coming home with me after school to see Beth?" Quinn asks.

She tries to sound casual but Rachel can tell the other girl is nervous. Meeting Beth is important to Quinn and she's worried that the little girl, still a baby really, won't take to her.

"Yes Quinn, I'll be there. And relax, I know you're nervous about this, but it's all going to be fine. I'm sure of it."

Rachel's attempt at reassurance seems to break whatever reserve Quinn was holding onto and the diva can already see tears starting to run down the blondes face.

"But what of she hates me? What if my Aunts don't trust me with her? What if I do something stupid? What if..."

It seems Quinn has a list and without hesitation Rachel steps forward and wraps her arms around the sniffling girl.

"She's not going to hate you Quinn, she barely even 4 months old. She doesn't know how to hate. Look you're Aunts are moving here to give you time to be with her and yeah, you may not be ready to look after her immediately but they aren't going to stop giving you chances. They love you Quinn, and they love Beth. They want both of you to be in each other's lives and they are uprooting theirs to give you that chance. Yeah you might make mistakes but it's how you deal with those mistakes that's important and you'll always have Jane and Kirsty and your Mom to call on if you need help or advice. Remember you're not in this alone."

Rachel feels the blonde nodding into her shoulder and she lets her go. Quinn's still sniffing a little and she dries her eyes with a tissue.

"Thanks Rach. I'm just scared, you know?"

"I know Quinn, anyone would be." Rachel nods, "But remember I'm here for you too. Okay?"

* * *

The Glee club were sitting in the choir room waiting for a once again late Mr Shue. Quinn is pretty jittery because, even though it's still a few hours before Beth is supposed to arrive, she really wants to get home and be ready for them. Rachel watches the blonde's knee bouncing up and down as Quinn chews on a thumbnail before reaching out her hand and giving the blonde's knee a squeeze.

"It's going to be okay Quinn" Rachel whispers.

This is the moment that Mr Shue deigns to arrive.

"Settle down everyone, I have some… news."

"Are you finally joining a twelve-step program?" Santana asks and when everyone looks at her confused she adds "What? He's addicted to vests."

"No Santana" Mr Shue dismisses her comment with a sigh, "But we do have a new member."

Everyone looks to the door Mr Shue came through and no one is surprised when they see who else walks through. Santana is the first to react.

"Oh Hell No. No me gusta! We've been through this already and St Jackass isn't welcome in this club."

"We'll it appears that Jesse and his father talked to Principal Figgins and persuaded him to require us to allow Jesse into New Directions." Mr Shue said and even he didn't look too happy.

"Bribed him you mean." Santana observes.

"Is Mr Shue's son coming back again?" Brittany asks.

Quinn is looking at Rachel, wondering what the girl is going to do. She knows the diva doesn't want to be anywhere near the jackass but she also knows how much Rachel loves Glee club. After a few moments of silence Rachel simply stands, gathers her belongings and walks out the room through the door Jesse isn't standing in and with Quinn hot on her heels. Santana and Brittany look at each other, shrug and stand up and leave too. Puck follows shortly after, then Tina and Mike, then Kurt. After a short period of time only Jesse and Mr Shue are left in the choir room.

* * *

Quinn is pacing back and forward in her living room like an expectant father, and that comparison amuses Rachel when it pops into her head. They stopped off at Rachel's house on the way home to let the diva change and Quinn had dashed upstairs as soon as she had gotten through the door to change out of her uniform too. Rachel had been left making small talk to Judy who was waiting for her ride to the retreat. They've been waiting for a few hours and apart from a break for some take out, Quinn has been pacing for most of that time. Beth, Jane and Kirsty are due to arrive at any moment.

"Quinn Honey, You're going to wear a hole in the carpet if you go on like that." Judy says from her spot on across the room.

Quinn stops pacing sits on the sofa next to Rachel and immediately starts fidgeting. Rachel wants so badly to put a reassuring hand on Quinn's knee or reach over and take the blonde into her arms but since Quinn's Mom is there she knows can't.

There is the sound of a car pulling up the drive and Quinn is already on her feet and at the window.

"It's them" she says then heads to the door.

Rachel and Judy share a nervous look before standing themselves, but they don't head out of the living room as they don't want to crowd the baby. Quinn has the door open and Jane walks up with Beth in her arms.

"Hello Quinn" Jane says.

"Hi" Quinn says a little weakly, her eyes already on the baby in Jane's arms, all the nervous energy she's tried to burn off over the last few hours suddenly desert her.

Jane watches Quinn for a moment, but when the girl makes no move she steps forward, "Do you want to take her for a bit? Kirsty is going to need help unloading the car." When Quinn nods, Jane starts the process of handing Beth over. She shows the girl how to hold her properly, supporting her head and making sure she's got a good hold before letting go herself. "Now go take her into the living room out of the breeze, we'll be right there."

Quinn nods without taking her eyes off the little bundle in her arms and walks into the living room to sit on the sofa. As soon as she sits down, Rachel produces her camera and almost duplicates the only photo Quinn has of her and her daughter.

* * *

"Are you sure this is wise?"

Judy is standing in the kitchen with Jane and Kirsty. Kirsty is standing behind Jane with her arms around her wife's waist and her chin on Jane's shoulder. They are all standing on the far side of the kitchen table looking back through the archway to Quinn and Beth on the sofa.

Quinn hasn't really moved since she sat down except to rock the baby in her arms a little. Her eyes haven't moved from the little bundle either but her cheeks are wet with tears that have flowed almost nonstop since she sat down. Rachel sits beside her and has her hand on the other girls shoulder, silently offering her support.

"She needs to get it out of her system" Kirsty opines, "Wouldn't you in her place? And I think Beth's quite safe with her."

"Probably just as safe as if she was with one of us." Jane agrees nodding.

Judy just sighs, "Well I guess it's up to you two, I just don't want to see either of them get hurt. Emotionally or physically."

"I know Judy" Jane says, "And neither do we. We'll look out for them both."

They stand in silence and watch the young mother and her child for a few moments.

"Any more news on the mysterious suitor?" Jane asks. She's already brought Kirsty up to speed with Quinn and Rachel's relationship and neither of them had been surprised to find the brunette there when they had arrived, but they didn't know if Judy had become aware of it.

"No" Judy says with another sigh, "I've only ever seen her hanging around with Rachel, Santana and Brittany. If she is still seeing someone, she's not bringing him here."

"Have you asked her?" Kirsty asks

Just shakes her head, "I don't want to pry. Russell did that too much in the past, I want her to be able to tell me herself. And honestly, given the past, I doubt she'll be taking any boys word for it when it comes to protection if they are… you know…"

Jane and Kirsty just nod know that isn't really a problem anymore.

"Oh while I remember, you might want to talk to Santana and Brittany." Judy adds, "I'm pretty sure they're in a relationship with each other and apart from Rachel's fathers, there isn't anyone around here they can go to for advice. I thought you might be able to, I don't know, give them advice or something?"

"Sure" Jane says nodding, "We'll get their numbers off of Quinn or something."

Just then Judy's cell phone rings, she answers and tells the person on the end that she'll be right out.

"That's my ride, I'll see you both on Sunday evening, okay?"

Judy bustles out of the room before either woman can reply. She stops in the living room giving her daughter and granddaughter a kiss on each of their foreheads, and heads out of the door grabbing her bags on the way. Jane and Kirsty watch her go.

"So your sister spots Santana and Brittany's relationship" Kirsty observes, "but even though Quinn hangs around with them and a girl who has two fathers and, more importantly, looks at Quinn like that" she indicates how Rachel has been looking at Quinn and Beth since they had arrived, "she hasn't noticed the obvious? Is she really that blind?"

"Apparently."


	31. Chapter 31

**Authors Note:** I still haven't decided about splitting the story yet, I'm thinking there may be at least a couple more chapters before I have to decide that.

So here's some more Friday night. For those of you waiting to see Beth (well an awake Beth) and Quinn, that will be in the next chapter.

* * *

"Quinn? It's time to take Beth up to bed."

Actually it was well past time to put Beth to bed but the baby was sound asleep in Quinn's arms and Jane had wanted to give Quinn some time with her that night. Rachel watches as Quinn nods and stands, making to pass Beth over to Jane but the older woman makes no attempt to take her.

"Why don't you come up and help?" Jane suggests kindly, "I'll need to show you how to change her anyway if you're going to look after her tomorrow."

"Okay" Quinn manages, sounding a little rough.

As Quinn and Jane head upstairs Kirsty comes through to sit with Rachel, "Hey, how are you doing?"

To be honest Rachel has spent the last hour or so trying not to cry herself from just watching Quinn with Beth. She'd taken some pictures of the two just after Beth had arrived and Quinn had even managed a little smile for some of them, though she never took her eyes off of the baby. But when the tears had started to flow down the cheeks of a totally silent Quinn, she'd put the camera away and sat next to her girlfriend, looking between her and her child as she tried to keep her own eyes dry.

In that hour Rachel had recognized the unconditional love Quinn had for her daughter and realized how difficult it must have been to give her away. It didn't take her long to realize that Quinn was going to be inseparable from Beth for the whole weekend, not that Rachel would suggest anything else, but Rachel was a bit worried how Quinn would react when it came time for Beth to go back to Columbus with Jane and Kristy, even if it was only for a few weeks.

"I'm okay thanks" she nods and finds herself as rough as Quinn was.

Kirsty passes Rachel the glass of water she brought with her from the kitchen, "I know this has to be tough for you as well, Quinn's told us about what happened with your mom."

Rachel is shaking her head before Kirsty is even done talking, "No it's okay, really. I've put that all behind me."

Kirsty just gives Rachel a knowing look, "If you say so, but all I want to say is if you ever need anyone to talk to, Jane and I would be more than willing to listen. About your Mom or just anything you can't or don't want to talk to your Dad's about. I know there are things girls don't want to talk to their Dad's about, especially if they are in a relationship with another girl. So just remember we're here, okay?"

Rachel nods then ask, "Why?"

"Because you're important to Quinn and Quinn is important to us."

Rachel nods again and they sit quietly for a few moments. They can hear Jane and Quinn talking quietly through the baby monitor and Rachel can't help but smile.

"Rachel, do you realize how difficult this process could be for Quinn?"

"I had thought about that" Rachel confirms, "I'm a little concerned about how she'll handle things when the weekend is over."

This time it's Kirsty's turn to nod, "Yes, there's that. But there's more than that too. The way Jane and I see it, bringing Beth back into Quinn's life, especially so soon after the birth, is a bit of a risk. It could be the best thing that could ever happen for Quinn, or it might…" Kirsty pauses trying to find the appropriate words, "not go so well."

Rachel looks at the woman curiously, "What do you mean?"

"It's like you said, she might not handle being separated from Beth again very well. Now imagine every time she sees Beth, Quinn knows she's going to leave her again, even if it's just to go home for the night. She might be fine and having Beth back in her life might be the best thing that happens to her. But she might not, she might get depressed, she might start having anxiety attacks, she might get so focused on Beth that everything else takes a backseat, including her own health. We just don't know how it will go until we try and Jane and I have decided it's worth the risk because if it does go well…" Kirsty shrugs and trails off.

Rachel nods, although the immediate future had concerned her, she hadn't realized that even if that went okay there may be longer term issues.

"So that's where you come in." Kirsty adds.

"How?" Rachel asks, if there's something she can do to help Quinn, we'll she doesn't even have to finish that thought.

"We don't really know Quinn. Yes she's family and I'm sure she'll be fine with Beth, but we aren't going to be around a lot over the next few weeks and even when we are… Well that last time Jane really knew Quinn was when Quinn was eight. You know her though and you'll be here. All I'm suggesting is if you notice something… odd going on, you call us and let us known."

"I'm not going to spy on Quinn and help you take Beth away from her." Rachel immediately objects.

"That's not what this is about Rachel" Kirsty says, "If we didn't want Quinn seeing Beth we wouldn't be here. We're just trying to look out for Quinn and if she needs it, get her any help she needs."

"What kind of help?" Rachel asks warily.

"She might just need to talk to someone, either Jane and me or a professional. Or she may need some medication, I don't know right now. As I said, she may be fine, but we just want to be ready in the case that she's not."

Rachel nods then a thought occurs to her, "How do you know this stuff?"

Kirsty looks a bit uncomfortable, this is a touchy subject for her even now, but the girl has a right to know, especially if she's going to be helping them. "I was in Quinn's position at her age. I didn't get a second chance though, it was a closed adoption and I still don't know where he is. But unlike Quinn, I didn't handle giving my baby up very well. I made mistakes, I did things…" she pauses and shakes her head looking down at her hands, "things I'm still not proud of, that I'll never be proud of", she turns her wrist around, pushing up the heavy bracelet that sits on it to show Rachel the faint scar hidden beneath, "It was my best friend that literally saved my life and I don't want anyone else to visit where I went."

Rachel stares at her own hands for a while. "Do you think…" her voice breaks a little as she asks, "do you think that I'm one of Quinn's mistakes?"

"No" Kirsty's response is immediate, "No Rachel, I don't. When you're in that place you don't do anything that's good for you. And you're definitely good for Quinn."

"Who was your friend?" Rachel isn't sure why she asked, isn't even sure she should ask, there's no way she could know the person but the question just slipped out.

"Jane"

* * *

Upstairs Jane and Quinn have finished changing Beth and have tucked her up in the portable crib they had brought with them. Jane was pretty sure that Quinn would be able to handle anything Beth needed for the few hours the baby was going to be left with her the next day, but that wouldn't help if Quinn didn't feel up to it.

"How are you feeling Quinn?"

"Hmmm? I'm okay." Quinn says absently, her eyes still glued to the sleeping form of the baby before her.

"Quinn, if you're worried about looking after Beth tomorrow you need to tell us. I can stay here and Kirsty can go look at the houses alone. You can still look after Beth, but I'll be here if you need me." Jane offers.

"No, it's okay. I've baby sat before for Mr Shue's sister-in-law's kids. And anyway, Puck will be here."

It had been Jane's idea to have Puck visit while Quinn was babysitting, at least that way Quinn and Beth wouldn't be alone, so she knew Puck would be there. But she's remind Quinn tomorrow that they were only a call away should she need advice or help.

"Why don't you ask Rachel to come over too?"

Quinn seems to think about that for a moment but shakes her head, "Puck doesn't know about us yet, it would look odd."

"How are you and Rachel doing?"

"Good I think. She wanted to take me out on a date this evening, but she understood I couldn't, not when Beth was coming over."

Jane nods.

"School's hard, I just want to keep holding her hand, or hugging her or kissing her. But no one there knows. Well apart from Santana, Brittany and Kurt. So we can't do any of that there." There's a pause then Quinn adds, "Or here."

"Have you thought any more about telling Judy?"

Quinn shakes her head, "I don't know what she'd do. I've been kicked out once by my father and she just sat there and let him do it" she says a little bitterly, "I don't think I could take being kicked out by her too."

Jane picks her words carefully, "You know that hurt her as much as it did you? She had to pick between the man she loved and her daughter." As Quinn opens her mouth to object, Jane quickly continues, "No, I don't think she made the right choice, but everyone makes mistakes Quinn, we have to forgive them eventually."

"I came back didn't I?" Quinn snaps, then sighs, "And she didn't kick him out until she found out he was cheating. She didn't kick him out so I could come back."

"Have you talked about it with her?" Jane asks.

"Fabray's don't talk about difficult things."

Jane sighs, "Quinn, do you really want to hide for the rest of your life? You could have Rachel over for dinner, you could hold hands, hug and kiss, you can be together here without having to worry about being caught."

"And where do I go if she kicks me out? Who pays for college? Who does all the stuff a parent should do? I can't stay in Mercedes spare room forever."

Jane just shakes her head, "Quinn, I really don't think it'll come to that. She's not going to throw you out twice; she knows she made a mistake, a big mistake. And even if she does, I'm sure Rachel would be more than willing to let you stay for a couple of weeks, then Jane and I will be here and we'd look after you."

Quinn's surprise is evident even to Jane, "You'd do that?"

"Of course." Jane says pulling Quinn in for a hug, "Your family Quinn and I've missed too much of your life already. So yes, we'd do that without a second thought. But honestly? I don't think it would come to that."

Quinn just holds on to her Aunt, she can't remember the last time anyone other than Rachel actually took the time to give her a hug.

"You know she knows about Santana and Brittany?"

"She does?" Quinn is surprised at this. She didn't think her mother paid attention to her friends at all.

"She asked us to see if they needed someone to talk to since there aren't many gay couples around here. She isn't so bad you see."

Quinn just nods and after a few seconds says, "I'll think about it."

"Come on, we should go downstairs."

A thought occurs to Quinn, "Can I ask Rachel to stay over?"

Jane chuckles, "This is your house Quinn, not mine. I think that's your choice. Just keep the noise down okay? Try not to wake Beth."


	32. Chapter 32

**Authors Note: **A big milestone below, will you catch it? I'll give you a hint, its in the fourth section separated by horizontal lines (not counting this note). The next Chapter will have more Puck/Quinn/Beth.

* * *

Quinn did invite Rachel to sleep over and, after a quick call to her fathers, the diva agreed. The four women spent the evening talking about everything and nothing. Quinn and Rachel brought Jane and Kirsty up to date with their lives, the past, the present and their plans for the future. The latter had a lot of uncertainty of course, but Jane noted that both of them were making plans that included the other.

Jane and Kirsty told the girls about their early life, how they met, how they fell in love, though skipping certain details like Kirsty's pregnancy and the scar on her wrist. They told how Jane had discussed Quinn's pregnancy with Kirsty and how they'd both agreed to try and adopt Beth. They told that their intention had always to allow Quinn to get to know the baby girl if the blonde wanted the opportunity. They told about the day they collected her, just a few days old, from the same hospital that Quinn has still been in. The frantic calls to Kirsty's mother and both of their friends for advice, the uncertainties and second guessing that all new first time parents go through. All the little stages that they'd noticed Beth going through, the first smile, the first time she seemed to be looking around and the first time she rolled over.

At the end of it all, tears were once again running down Quinn's cheeks, though a small smile graced her lips, while Rachel held her from one side, and Jane from the other as the three sat on the sofa. They were all exhausted, Jane and Kirsty from their long day and Quinn from the emotional roller coaster she had spent the last few hours on, so they headed for bed.

Rachel notices Quinn climbing the stairs a little stiffly so when the girls get to Quinn's bedroom, Rachel decides to take control.

"Take of your dress and go lay on the bed Honey." She instructs gently.

"Rach, I know I asked you to sleep over, but…" Quinn begins.

"Quinn, if you think we're going to do that with a baby in the next room" Rachel interrupts, "You're sorely mistaken. Now if you want to find out what those classes I've been taken were about, take off your dress and lay down."

Curiosity peaked, Quinn complies. Rachel roots around in Quinn's cosmetic supplies and finally finds some massage oil she knew the girl had. She turns and see's Quinn laying on the bed in nothing more than some lacy underwear and suddenly Rachel is having second thoughts on her no-sex rule.

Before she can entirely squash her libido, she managed to blurt out "Take those off too."

Quinn quirks an eyebrow but sits up to comply and after a moment is once again laying on the bed but this time totally naked. This causes Rachel to whimper a little and she tries to cover it with a cough, but the smug smile on the blondes face shows it didn't work.

"Having second thoughts?" Quinn asks, and to be honest she is too.

"Turn over" Rachel demands.

Quinn giggles, "As Santana would say, Wanky."

"Are you really going to invoke her name when you're lying there like that?" Rachel asks.

Quinn rolls over slowly until she's face down on the bed, head turned to one side and resting on her arms so she can look at Rachel. The diva can't help but run her eyes over her girlfriend, the curve of her back, the swell of her ass, even her breasts pressing into the mattress below her. She's not entirely sure how long she stands there, but she does know that "Oh God" slips from her lips causing Quinn to giggle again.

Rachel swallows and crosses to the other girl, pouring a little of the oil on her and starting to give her a massage all the while trying to ignore the sparks of electricity that shoots up her hands whenever she touches the other girl. The moan that breaks from Quinn's throat is nothing short of erotic and turns Rachel's insides to jelly.

"So that what you've been doing?" Quinn asks when she catches her breath, "Learning to give a massage?"

"You've done it for me so often" Rachel shrugs, "I thought it would be nice to return the favor."

The girls fall silent, well Rachel falls silent, Quinn spends the next fifteen minutes or so moaning or groaning softly into the pillow and making Rachel wish they were back in her soundproofed room at home. When Rachel's done, Quinn has to admit she hasn't felt this relaxed in some time.

"Rach, I know I've said you have magic fingers before, but I reiterate the sentiment. That was wonderful."

"So you'll let me do it to you again?"

"Definitely, that and more." Quinn says with a wink.

Quinn slips under the covers while Rachel strips, the girls never wear anything to bed when they sleep together even if they are just sleeping, and this time its Quinn's turn to ogle. Rachel climbs into bed next to Quinn and they fall asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

The girls wake late the next day. Jane had look in on them earlier but decided that they looked so peaceful together, covers pulled up to their chins but obviously wrapped up in each other's arms. She decided not to wake them. They shower separately and get dressed, Rachel borrowing some sweats from Quinn, and head down the stairs to find Jane in the living room with Beth.

"Kirsty's in the kitchen, she's got some breakfast for the pair of you, though its more brunch now." Jane says with a small smile.

Rachel starts to head towards the kitchen but Quinn doesn't move, eyes on Beth lying on a playmat on the floor with Jane. Rachel takes Quinn's arm and gently and tugs her towards the kitchen.

"Quinn, eat first then you can spend time with Beth." Rachel encourages the other girl.

Quinn just nods then lets Rachel pull her through to the kitchen.

"Good morning girls" Kirsty says placing food in front of them, she'd started their breakfasts when she'd heard the shower going. "Bacon and eggs for Quinn and pancakes for Rachel. Sorry, it's the only vegan thing I know how to make."

Rachel is surprised not only that Kirsty made breakfast for her but that she knew Rachel was vegan, "You knew I'm vegan?"

Kirsty just smiles, "I think you underestimate how much Quinn talks about you when she has someone she can talk about you with."

Rachel turns to look at Quinn, but the blonde is too busy with her bacon to notice.

* * *

"Okay Quinn, pick her up just like I showed you, remember to support her head, and hold her like you did last night."

Jane is giving Quinn some basic lessons on how to hold and care for Beth. The pair are kneeling next to the playmat on the floor that Beth is wriggling around on, Rachel is sitting on the sofa watching so as not to get in the way. Quinn wasn't too worried about actually holding Beth, she'd been able to do that okay last night, but Beth had been asleep then and Quinn was worried about how the girl would respond to her.

She reaches out a hand to soothe the little girl and notices it's shaking a little. Jane is watching closely so she stops, takes a deep breath to calm herself and then tries again. She picks up the baby just as Jane has shown her and when the girl safely in her arms she looks up to see both Jane and Kirsty smiling at her. Beth wriggles in her arms, not trying to escape but just moving, and Quinn looks down to see two large hazel green eyes staring back up at her. Beth gurgles up at her, hands grasping at nothing and Quinn could swear the girl smiled at her. She feels like the whole world has breathed out a sigh of relief.

Quinn had taken some time that morning while Rachel was in the shower to do whatever she could think of to make sure she would inadvertently hurt Beth. She'd trimmed her nails, making sure there were no sharp bits, cleaned off her nail polish and then thoroughly washed her hands with some mild soap to wash away any chemicals. So she had no hesitation to holding out a finger and letting Beth grab on to it, the baby still gurgling away. A huge smile grows across Quinn's face.

She stands and makes her way across to the sofa to sit next to Rachel and looks up to share a smile with her girlfriend, "I think she likes me."

"How could she not?" Rachel answered automatically, "She's got good taste."

They sit there for a moment and Quinn allows Beth to play with her fingers.

"Do you want to have kids Rach?" Quinn asks.

"Not immediately" Rachel answers, still peering over Quinn's shoulder to look at Beth, "But yeah, I would. Would you?"

Quinn nods, "I want to carry at least one more."

* * *

Puck was late, just a little so far, but when babies are hungry they won't wait for company to turn up so Quinn was sitting on the sofa feeding Beth from a bottle that Jane had prepared. When Jane had passed her the bottle, Quinn had automatically checked the temperature against her wrist, before realizing what she'd done and turning red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, the book said to check whenever someone else makes the bottle up."

Jane just smiled, "I do the same thing when I'm feeding her with a bottle Kirsty made up. Never be embarrassed about taking Beth's safety seriously."

Quinn just nods, keeping her attention on the baby as she feeds her.

"So you've been reading up on looking after babies then?" Jane asks.

"I figured if I was going to look after her for even a short time its best to know how to do it properly." She pauses and chuckles, "And Rach kept emailing me web links."

"You'll both make good mothers someday."

Quinn looks up at Rachel who's in the kitchen with Kirsty helping with lunch since Kirsty didn't have any vegan lunches up her sleeve, "I hope we get to do it together." She says, more to herself than Jane.

"You're that serious about her?"

Quinn glances at Jane then returns her attention to Beth, "Yeah. I think… no, I know I love her."

* * *

Puck finally turns up fifteen minutes late and explains his tardiness with the large bouquet of flowers he was carrying. He had thought he should bring something, but didn't think a bottle of wine would be appropriate, so he'd stopped at a florist on the way over and couldn't decide which flowers to get. Jane and Kirsty thank him and direct him to the living room where Quinn is sitting in the floor with Beth playing with brightly colored plastic blocks and other toys. If he thinks Rachel's presence on the sofa is odd, he doesn't say anything.

"She can build with those already?" Puck asks.

"No Puck" Quinn sighs, rolling her eyes, "She can barely grip them right now, it more about the colors and shapes stimulating her development." She collected Beth in her arms and stands, walking over to Puck. "Puck, this is Beth" officially introducing them for the first time. She didn't add "your daughter" or "my daughter" or "our daughter" as much as she wanted to because while they were Beth's biological parents, Jane and Kirsty were her legal parents and that just left Quinn a little confused.

Puck reached out one hand and Quinn bats it away, "Not until you've washed, and anyway we're just about to have lunch. Everyone's in the kitchen, I'll be there in a moment."

For Puck lunch consisted of quite a grilling by Jane and Kirsty as well as the meal. Neither of the women was too hard on him, but they wanted to get to know as much about him as they could before they left him with Beth. Granted Quinn and Rachel were going to be there, but mothers are always protective. In the end Puck made a decent enough impression managing not to say anything stupid.

After lunch, Quinn made Puck load the dishwasher and then stood over his shoulder as he washed thoroughly, much to everyone's amusement except Puck, before she'd allow him near the girl. As Jane and Kirsty left, happy that their daughter was in safe hands but ensuring everyone had their phone numbers and instructions to call them if needed, Puck and Quinn were sitting on the floor with Beth on her playmat.


	33. Chapter 33

**Authors Note:** So I figure I'll just keep this story going rather than split it, though the chapters might start getting longer and slightly further apart.

Is it too narcissistic to keep re-reading peoples reviews? Without all your kind words I really would have given up on this a long time ago. Right now this story is by far the longest thing I've ever written. So thank you all again for your reviews and I hope you'll keep telling me what you think.

* * *

Puck wasn't exactly sure what had happened. One moment Beth had been lying there in what he thought was the dictionary definition of happy baby, the next she had this weird look on her face and then she started crying. He'd picked her up and tried to soothe her like Quinn had shown him but it hadn't helped and a quick pleading look thrown to Rachel had only received a knowing smirk back, she wasn't going to help. And now he could hear Quinn thumping downstairs and he knew she was going to go all HBIC on him.

"What did you do Puck?" Quinn demands marching into the room, "I leave you alone for thirty seconds…"

As she passes the sofa, Rachel reaches out and catches her hand, pulling her over and whispering in her ear. Quinn's face goes from pissed to understanding to evil grin in seconds and Puck had a feeling that he was going to like this even less than HBIC Quinn.

"Come on Puck, it's not your fault but you get to fix it, following my instructions of course."

"Fix what?" he asks just as confused as ever.

Both Rachel and Quinn smirk at him and Quinn answers, "You're going to change her diaper."

Yeah, Puck didn't like this one little bit. "Um, isn't it better if you do it? I don't want to hurt her or anything."

"You've been fine with her so far" Quinn says grabbing him by his arm and dragging him towards the stairs, "As long as you do exactly what I tell you, she'll be fine."

"This I have to see" Rachel comments as she joins the procession up the stairs.

Quinn leads them all upstairs to the bedroom where the supplies are being kept. She checks inside to make sure there's nothing lying around that Puck shouldn't see, like her Aunt's underwear or something, but when it's all clear she opens the door and lets him in. Puck places Beth on the changing mat at Quinn's prompting then steps back.

"Look Quinn, I think it's better if you handle this, anyway I need to go."

He turns to leave to find Rachel standing blocking the door and shaking her head.

"Oh no Puck" Quinn says pulling him back to the changing area, "If you want the good, the chance to spend time with Beth, you deal with the bad too. That's the deal."

For Quinn the first time she changed Beth, or rather helped Jane to change her, it actually hadn't been that bad. Sure it had been a rather disgusting mess, but it's not like the baby could help it and Quinn had been too concerned with getting Beth clean and happy again to let it bother her and it hadn't bothered her since. Rachel had felt a little bit queasy when she had helped, but she'd still managed without too much of a problem.

"Now gently open the tabs at the side and pull the front down."

With surprisingly steady hands, Puck peels back the tabs and loosens the front of the diaper. He pauses, taking a deep breath before pulling the front away from Beth and reviewing the content. Quinn casually noted that it was pretty much what she had to deal with her first time. She opens her mouth to tell Puck what to do next when Rachel's voice interrupts her.

"Uh Quinn, he's turning green."

Quinn looks up and realizes that Puck is about to lose his lunch. "Out" she says shooing him from the room, "Out, she doesn't need you throwing up over her."

When Puck has gone Quinn shakes her head and sighs, mutters something that sounds to Rachel like, "Men, who'd have them?" and returns to the task at hand of changing Beth. Rachel just stands in the door looking in the direction Puck went and laughs.

* * *

When Jane and Kirsty returned from their afternoon looking at houses and having a little "them time", they find Rachel on the floor playing with Beth and apparently having a great time. Quinn looks on from the sofa and Jane isn't sure of she's staring at Beth or Rachel but the expression is definitely how a person looks at someone they love. Puck however, still looks a little green.

"What's up with him?" Jane asks Quinn.

"He tried to change Beth" Quinn says shaking her head, "It didn't end well for him."

"He threw up?"

"Yup" Quinn confirms, "But on the positive side, he at least made it to the bathroom."

Jane passes the items she's carry to Kirsty to put away and sits next to Quinn. "How has she been?"

"Good as gold" Quinn says, "She went down for her nap without a problem and slept right through. She hasn't been a problem at all. Well, except to Puck's stomach."

"So you'd be happy to look after her again."

Quinn nods happily, "Yeah, any time. I'd love to."

"Well I'm glad everything went so well today Quinn. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more of Beth when we move here."

"Did you see any place you liked?" Quinn asks

Jane and Kirsty had done a tour of a couple of houses, but one had stood out. It was easily in their price range, it was a lot larger than they had thought they'd get and even had a pool in the back garden. But the best bit was the couple there had just had their own baby so the house was already baby and toddler proof. The couple was moving to be closer to the husband's mother who was terminally ill.

"Yeah, there's a place just a couple of blocks away. We've put in an offer." Jane replies.

"That close?" Quinn is a little surprised, but good surprised. "Do you know when you'll hear?"

"Not really, but it shouldn't be too long. They're in a little bit of a hurry to sell."

Puck has just about recovered from his unexpected visit to the bathroom and decides he should head before any repeat performances. He says his goodbye's and Rachel helps Beth return it, holding the baby's arm gently and slowly moves it like she's waving.

"Say 'bye bye Puck, bye bye Puck'" she coos

"Rach, do you really want bye bye Puck' to be her first words?" Quinn asks slightly amused.

"Hmm, good point." Rachel says, she turns so Beth faces Quinn, "Say 'hello Quinn, hello Quinn.'"

* * *

Quinn looked out of her bedroom window with unseeing eyes. She'd just helped put Beth to bed again and had decided to take a few moments for herself for the first time that day. Rachel was still downstairs with Jane and Kirsty, but Quinn didn't think anyone would miss her for a few minutes. She was reflecting on the weekend, barely half done and it had already been the best weekend of her life. Just over a week ago she had thought Beth gone, maybe only seeing her again if the girl went looking for her when she turned eighteen.

But now she was here, would be living a few blocks away soon. Her Aunts were pulling up their roots, leaving their friends in the city so she could spend time with her baby and be in her life. Quinn found it all a little overwhelming at times. That alone had made this weekend indescribable, but she'd also shared it with Rachel and for a couple of days she hadn't had to hide in her own home. Her Aunts knew about them and they could cuddle on the couch or do something as simple as holding hands without worrying if her Mom would notice.

There's a soft knock on the door and Quinn turns in time to see Rachel poking her head into the room.

"Hi"

"Hi Rach" Quinn can't help but smile at the other girl.

"I should be heading home, my Dads are expecting me."

Quinn nods and they meet each other in the middle of the room for a hug. Quinn sits on the edge of the bed while she watches Rachel collect her things and her mind drifts back to waking in the smaller girl's arms that morning, in her own bed and without worrying that her mother could walk through the door at any moment.

"Rach" she begins then stops.

Something in the tone of Quinn's voice tells Rachel that whatever the blonde wants to talk about is important, so she crosses to the bed to sit beside her.

"What is it Quinn?"

"I think…" Quinn starts uncertainly, "I think I want to tell Mom about me, about us." She says looking up at Rachel, "Is that okay?"

Rachel smiles, "Of course Honey, if it's what you want." She says, reaching out to take the other girls hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. "When are you going to do it?"

Quinn considers. Her mother's retreat was basically an excuse to go have a weekend of fun with her friends, so she was probably going to come back a little worse for wear. That meant…

"Monday, after school I think."

There's a pause and then Rachel asks "Do you want me to be here?"

Quinn thinks about this for a moment, but she knows her mother can say hurtful things when she's angry or upset and she doesn't want to put Rachel through that if it happens.

"I think this is something I need to do myself." She says, "But… My Aunt Jane said I could go stay with them when they move back here if the worst comes to the worst. If it does I'll need somewhere to stay for a few weeks…"

"You'll come and stay with me." Rachel cuts her off, "I hope it's not necessary, but you remember what my father's said? You have a home with us whenever you need it."

Quinn nods, "Thanks."

"Why the change of heart? Only a few days ago you were against telling her."

"The last two days have been so good. Beth here, you here, not having to hide. I just don't want it to end and this is something I can do about that. Wouldn't you like to stay over here now and then? Spend some time by the pool or in the hot tub?"

"The same hot tub Finn thought he'd managed to get you pregnant in without even having sex?" Rachel teases.

Quinn can't help but chuckle, "Don't worry we've changed the water and had it cleaned since then."

Both girls laugh at this, then Quinn accompanies Rachel downstairs and out to her car. Once the other girl had driven off, she returned to the house and finds Jane alone in the living room, the baby monitor sitting on the coffee table. Quinn listens for a moment and can hear a few sleep noises from Beth.

"Where's Aunt Kirsty?" she asks.

"She decided to have a soak in the bath." Jane asks flipping the page in the book she was reading.

"Not joining her?" Quinn asks.

Jane quirks a smile, "Unlike you teenage lovebirds, we married people don't have to grab every opportunity to have sex." Quinn nods and then Jane adds, "Besides, she said we couldn't while you were in the house."

Quinn laughs quietly, "Want me to go out?"

"I think I can hold my libido in check for another couple of days" Jane smiles, "But thanks for the offer."

"I'm going to tell Mom about Rachel and me." Quinn blurts out.

"If you're sure. You'll let us know how it goes?"

"Of course."

They sit in silence for a few moments, Jane turning the page in her book and then she puts the book down and turns to look at Quinn. "Is there something else that's bothering you?"

Sometimes Quinn thought that Jane could read her mind, she was unbelievably accurate. "I'm just a little confused."

"Want to talk about it?" Jane asks. When Quinn makes no comment she adds, "You know you can talk to Kirsty or I about anything Quinn. We won't judge you, we just want to help."

"Did you reschedule your visit to this weekend because Mom was going away and I'd be alone?" It wasn't important and it wasn't what was bothering her, but she didn't know how to talk about that yet.

"To a degree. But we did want to look at the houses as soon as we could." Jane answers honestly, then she does the mind reading trick again, "But that's not what's bothering you, is it?"

Quinn just shakes her head, her eyes trained on her hands and she realizes she's playing with her phone. She can't even remember picking it up, she's not touched it all day. Two missed calls and five texts.

"When I introduced Beth to Puck I wanted to say 'our daughter' but I don't know if she is any more. I just don't know. What am I to her? What is she to me?"

"You'll always be her mother Quinn and she'll always be your daughter."

"But she won't call me Mom." Quinn says sadly.

"No she won't" Jane says kindly moving to sit next to the blonde and take her hand, "But it doesn't matter what she calls you, she'll still love you and you'll still love her. That's the important thing."


	34. Chapter 34

Quinn woke just after 3am and lay wondering why she was suddenly wide awake. Moments later she heard Beth's cry and before she even had time to process the sound, she was out of bed and at the door to her room. She found Jane in the hallway walking back and forth with a crying Beth in her arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry if she woke you."

Quinn just shook her head, eyes trained on the little girl, "Is she okay?"

"She gets this way sometimes. If she was a little older I'd think she was teething but I think its just a case of the grumps."

Quinn looks around and notes who isn't there. "Where's Kirsty?"

"Asleep, she put earplugs in. She's driving us all the way to Columbus later and I want her to be fully rested. No need to risk a tired driver when we don't have to."

Quinn nods. She'd thought badly of Kirsty for a moment when Jane had mentioned the earplugs, but Jane had a point and Quinn wouldn't have thought of that. And Jane was there to look after Beth after all.

"How long will she go on line that?" Quinn asks curiously.

"A couple of hours maybe" Jane says, "It varies. If you need some earplugs we have some spares."

Quinn wasn't bothered about sleeping, it was Beth she was worried about. "Can I try?"

Jane wasn't sure of Quinn really wanted to help or just wanted to hold Beth again, but either way she wasn't about to say no. She passes the little girl over to Quinn and is rendered speechless when she immediately settles down, thumb in mouth and a few minutes later is sound asleep.

"Well…" is all Jane can get out.

"All she wanted was her" and then Quinn broke off, she was going to say mummy but the word got stuck in her throat and she could feel the tears starting again.

They stand there for a few minutes both looking at the little girl and pretending to ignore the tears on Quinn's cheeks. Jane suggests they put her back in her crib and they go into the room Jane, Kirsty and Beth share. Quinn crosses the room and places Beth in the crib and both the women wait for a moment to see if Beth will wake up again. When she doesn't Quinn returns to her room and sits on the edge of her bed staring out of the window.

* * *

Quinn stands at the front door of her home and watches Jane, Kirsty and Beth drive away. It's a little after six and as of yet her mother hadn't come home so Jane had offered that they'd stay but Quinn didn't want them risking having to travel in the dark. The car turned out of sight and Quinn closes the door, she climbs the stairs and turns on her laptop. She spends long minutes looking at the photos that had been taken of various combinations of Beth, her, Rachel, Jane and Kirsty before finally climbing into bed and pulling the covers up to her chin. She stops trying not to cry.

About an hour later her phone rings and apart from the fact that she recognised Rachel's ring tone, she wouldn't have bothered answering it.

"Hi Rach" she tries to sound normal but her voice sounds thick even to herself.

"Hi" Rachel says. There's a little pause before she continues, "Your Aunt Jane called to say they had left. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay."

Rachel didn't need to be a genius to know that Quinn was far from okay right then. "Do you want me to come over?" she asks kindly.

"Thanks Rach, but I just need some time to myself." Quinn replies.

"Call me if you need anything or want to talk, okay?"

"Okay Rach."

"Do you want me to drive you to school on Monday?" Rachel asks.

"Sure." Quinn really wasn't thinking about school right now.

"I'll see you Monday then. Take care Quinn."

"You too Rach, love you." Quinn says then hangs up completely unaware of what she'd just said.

Rachel sits for a moment, mouth open in surprise and looking at her cell phone in her hand then she squeals happily and jumps to her feet, doing a little happy dance, and dives straight to her music books. She has to find just the right song to sing for Quinn. Not on Monday, that wouldn't give her enough time to practice and she had to be perfect. Friday maybe.

* * *

Surprisingly Quinn didn't feel too bad on Monday morning and managed to be ready well before Rachel arrived. Her mother had come home late and drunk as expected, had basically collapsed in to bed and had yet to surface this morning. Quinn had made herself breakfast and then sat on the stairs waiting for Rachel to arrive, flipping through the photos on her phone, a small smile gracing her lips.

She hears a car in the drive and before she can open it, there's a knock on the door. She swings it open to find a rather bubbly Rachel bouncing on the doorstep.

"Hi Quinn, is your mother around?" the diva asks.

"Err, no. Still in bed I think."

Quinn had hardly gotten that out before Rachel dived forward and wrapped her arms around the blonde, "Morning Quinn."

"Morning Rach" Quinn was wondering exactly what had gotten into Rachel that morning, "Are you okay? Puck didn't give you any of his special drinks did he?"

"No Quinn, I'm simply high on life."

Rachel takes Quinn's hand and drags her out to the car, the blonde only just manages to grab her backpack on the way out, and holds the door for Quinn as she gets in then skips around the car and climbs in the driver side. Quinn watches her progress with an open mouth.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Quinn asks again.

"Perfectly fine Quinn, thank you for asking."

"Rach, I really think I should drive today."

"No need Quinn, now buckle up otherwise we'll be late."

They arrive at school and Rachel fairly bounces into the building. They find Santana and Brittany by their lockers and Santana takes one look then turns to Quinn.

"What's up with the midget?"

"I have no idea. She's been like that since she picked me up this morning." Quinn replies.

"Girls, we're having a glee club meeting at my place at the usual time. Let everyone else know and I do I need to say that Jesse isn't invited? No? Good. See you later." Rachel gets that out all in one breath then disappears. Quinn assumes she's going to class.

"She hasn't been taking anything Puck gave her has she?" asks Santana.

Quinn just shrugs. She turns and opens her locker to find a single red rose inside, along with a card. She groans and Santana looks over her shoulder.

"St Jackass?" she asks.

Quinn sighs, "I sincerely hope not." She says. The blonde opens the card and is surprised to find Rachel's handwriting inside. It just says "Ditto. R."

"Ditto? What's that about?" Santana asks.

"I have no idea" Quinn says, "But nobody's given me a rose before."

She pulls the flower out of her locker, takes in the scent for a moment with a smile on her face then returns the flower and the card to her locker before heading off to class.

* * *

After school the Glee club convened in Rachel's basement, the perfect venue for a group of their type. At least that's what Rachel claimed. The diva was having the time of her life playing host, she's never had this many people come to her place before, and thankfully Puck had managed to arrive without any alcohol so everything was progressing smoothly so far. Unexpectedly, Mr Shue had turned up and had even managed to turn up early but rather than cause a scene Rachel had just let him in and sent him downstairs with everyone else. She presumed that someone had understood that the Glee club included him and the diva accepted that they were probably right.

A voice breaks over the muted conversation and of course it has to be Santana, "Midget, are you going to tell us why you dragged our asses over here tonight or are you just going to keep playing happy hostess?"

"Certainly Santana", Rachel crosses to the little stage at the front of the room and clears her throat. "As you all know, I refuse to be in the same club as a certain person who shall remain unnamed."

"St Jackass" Santana supplies.

"Indeed" Rachel confirms a little annoyed at the interruption, "And I believe that you all followed my example and left on Friday, well apart from Mr Shue." She looks around the room and most people are nodding in agreement. "Therefore I suggest we all leave New Directions and set up a new group."

There's rumble of discussion around the room before Rachel clears her throat loudly and continues, "The reason he could join New Directions was because the club previously had a policy of accepting everyone who auditions. So I suggest our new group has no such policy. We would act as founding members of the club and any new members would require the agreement of the majority of the current members."

"But Rachel" Mr Shue interrupts, "Any new group you start wouldn't be able to go to Regionals; it was New Directions that won that place. You'd be forfeiting your chance at the Championship's."

"Mr Shue" Rachel begins, "I sincerely believe that Jesse is only here to cause trouble and try and destroy New Directions before Regionals. Either by attacking the club directly as we saw last week, or trying to get to me. If I am correct, Jesse will be gone before Regionals and we will all be able return to New Directions in time for and prepared for the competition. If I am wrong, I am willing to go back to New Directions even of Jesse is still a member. Though I will refuse to dance or sing with him."

"And what if New Directions gains enough members to go to Regionals without you?" Asks Mr Shue.

"Seriously?" Santana asks, "Do you remember the trouble you had getting enough people the first time round? And do you think any of the jocks or other cheerleaders will join if we put the word out? And if by some miracle you do get enough people, we already know the best singers and dancers in this school are already in this room."

There's a general rumble of agreement from the other Glee members and eventually it is decided. Only one thing is left.

"What are we going to call this new group?" ask Brittany.

There's a pause and Santana suggests "The Troubletones."

Eventually an agreement is reached and Rachel is seeing everyone off. Santana, Brittany and Quinn are the last to the door, Santana giving Quinn a lift home, and Rachel stops Quinn from leaving by placing a hand on the blonde's arm. She waits until the others are out of earshot before turning to Quinn.

"Are you sure you want to do this alone Quinn?"

"Tell my Mom you mean?" Quinn asks and Rachel nods, "Yes Rach, it's something I have to do myself."

"You'll call me and tell me how it goes."

"You'll be the first to know babe, promise."

With a glance to ensure everyone else had gone, Rachel pulls Quinn into a hung and they just hold each other for a few moments before Quinn makes her way to Santana's car and they drive off.

* * *

Quinn took a deep breath before she pushed the front door open, best to get this over and done with. She walked into the house and found her mother in the living room reading a magazine.

"Hi Mom"

"Oh Hi Dear, how did the weekend with Beth go?"

"Good, very good. I've got a bunch of pictures Rachel took that you can have a look at later. Oh and Puck ended up throwing up when he tried to change Beth's diaper."

Quinn's mother chuckles, "I remember your Dad doing the same thing the first time he tried to change Frannie. I guess some things don't change with time."

"Mom, there's something I need to talk to you about." Quinn figures there's no time like the present now her Mom appears to be in a good mood.

"Of course Quinnie" Judy replies as she puts down the magazine and turns her attention to Quinn.

"Mom, I realized something about myself recently that might surprise you. It kind of surprised me at the time." She looks up and sees her Mom nodding at her. She looks back at her hands for a moment, trying to work out the best way to say this. She'd been trying different things all day in her head and hadn't been able to improve on just straight out saying it. "I know you think I've been seeing someone recently, Jane said you saw the flowers in my car, and you're right I have been dating someone." She takes a deep breath and just says it, "I'm gay mom, I've been dating Rachel."

She waits for a reaction, any reaction, but nothing happens. She forces her eyes up from her hands and sees her mom just sitting there staring off into the distance.

"Mom?"

No reaction.

"Mom? Say something Mom?"

Nothing. Quinn waits a few moments, she keeps calling out to her mother but the woman just sits there. Judy is unmoving with a blank expression on her face, the same expression she was wearing when Russell threw Quinn out. So that's it, Quinn concludes, her mother doesn't even want to acknowledge her any more. The blonde can feel the tears building behind her eyes but she swears she's not going to cry this time.

"Fine, I'll pack and be out of here within an hour."

Quinn runs upstairs, slamming the bedroom door behind her. Not her bedroom door anymore, just a bedroom door. She pulls her duffels out of the closet and starts packing what she needs. At least now she knows what's important. She finds her phone and speed dials Rachel.

"Quinn? How did it go?"

"Not good" Quinn can hear her voice break as she talks to Rachel, she's only seconds away from a total breakdown. "I'm leaving before she can throw me out."

* * *

**Authors Footnote:** The moment of truth.. Don't kill me for the cliffhanger I couldn't resist. The next chapter is already half written so you'll get the resolution soon. I just need to figure out what song Rachel will sing for Quinn. Any ideas?


	35. Chapter 35

**Authors Note: **I'll just leave this here mkay? Now, how long till the new episode...

This is unedited, its (very) late for me, so I'll reread later and correct if necessary.

* * *

"I'm on my way over." Rachel's reply was instantaneous and her voice firm.

"No" Quinn replies just as firmly, "I don't want her… I don't know what she'll say to you."

"I can handle it, I'm a big girl, and you can't drive in that state, I can hear it in your voice."

"I can't leave my car here …" Quinn begins.

"Daddy's driving me so I'll drive your car back."

"Fi…"

The phone is pulled for her grasp and Quinn spins surprised to find her mother standing behind her, she'd been too wrapped up in the conversation and packing that she hadn't been paying attention.

Judy looks at the screen then lifts the phone to her ear, "Rachel? Quinn will call you back in a few minutes." Without waiting on a reply she ends the call and tosses the phone on the bed.

"You have no right…" Quinn starts angrily.

"Stop" Judy interrupts, "Stop, just listen to me please." She doesn't wait for Quinn to agree. "You don't have to go anywhere Quinn, I'm not going to throw you out. I made the mistake of standing by while that happened once and I'm not going to do it myself. You're my daughter and I love you exactly as you are."

"I'm gay Mom, that's not going to change."

"I'm not asking you to change Quinnie, it doesn't matter to me as long as you're happy and safe." Judy pauses and takes a breath, "I'm sorry for my reaction, but I was shocked. I've seen you and Rachel hanging out together so much and you always seemed so happy, I just never thought…" she shakes her head, "It was a surprise that's all and I didn't react well and for that I'm sorry, but please, please don't leave."

Quinn nods and her mother pulls the blonde into her arms for a hug, "I love you Quinn."

"I love you too Mom."

They break apart but Judy still holds Quinn's hand, "She makes you happy, right"?

"Yes Mom" Quinn nods, "Very. I love her."

Judy's mother just nods, "Very few people your age find true love but for what it's worth, she's a very nice young lady and I hope it works out for you both. Now, you'd better call her back before…"

There interrupted by a banging on the front door and Rachel can be heard clearly calling for Quinn.

"Ah well, too late." Says Judy, "I'll be in the kitchen making some tea, you go fetch your girlfriend."

The head downstairs and Judy turns to the kitchen. Quinn opens the front door a few moments later and a tiny brunette barrels into her arms and peppers her with questions.

"Are you okay? Are you ready to go? Do you need help packing?"

"Rachel" Quinn says and then has to repeat herself louder to get the girls attention, "Rachel! It's okay, it was a misunderstanding. She was just surprised that's all. She doesn't have a problem with me being gay or with us being together. I don't have to move out."

"She doesn't? You don't?" Rachel looks happy for a few moments then her expression fades into a pout.

"What?" Quinn asks, "What's wrong?"

"I was kind of looking forward to having you in my bed tonight." Rachel admits.

Quinn can't help but laugh, "Well, how about you stay over here tonight?"

"Your Mom won't mind?" Rachel asks, "She won't want an open door policy?"

"I'm sure you can talk her out of it" Quinn says then after a moment adds "Just don't make me die of embarrassment in the process."

"No promises, you look cute with red cheeks."

"Uh-huh" Quinn isn't convinced with that, "Anyway come on, my Mom wants to meet my girlfriend."

Suddenly Rachel isn't so calm.

* * *

"Well girls, it's time for me to head to bed. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Rachel, Quinn and Judy had spent most of the evening talking in the living room. After her initial surprise and the confusion with her reaction, Judy turned out be just as accepting as she had promised. She had already agreed that Rachel could sleep over, even though it was a school night, and had a little reluctantly conceded that, since the girls had been sexually active with each other multiple times, an open door policy would be pointless.

"And girls, while I may be wearing ear plugs tonight, that's not an excuse to be too noisy."

Quinn just made it through the evening with terminal embarrassment. Judy disappeared up the stairs and left Rachel curled with Quinn on the sofa.

"Well it all worked out okay in the end." Rachel says with a sigh.

Quinn hums her agreement, "But did you have to go into so much detail about our sex life? I can barely look your Dads in the eye. I don't need that problem with my Mom too."

"Oh hush Quinn, it's nothing she didn't do when she was young."

"Yes it is" Quinn disagrees, "Mom isn't gay, I doubt she's ever gone down on… eww eww, I do not need that mental image!"

Rachel just chuckles, "How do you know? Many people experiment when their young and her sister is gay."

"And so am I, but I don't see Frannie experimenting with girls any time soon."

Quinn is laying on the sofa with Rachel in front of her, the blonde's arm laying over the diva's waist and her fingers unconsciously playing with the top button of Rachel's jeans. Neither girl is really paying attention until the button suddenly pops open.

"Quinn?"

"Hmm" is all Quinn says as she moves on to the next button. It comes undone surprisingly quickly.

"We can't do that here." Rachel says but she hasn't made a move to stop Quinn.

"Why not?"

"Uh, we're on the sofa in your living room. It isn't exactly private."

"But Mom's already gone to bed and there no one else here." Quinn lowers her lips to Rachel's skin kissing her just behind the ear. "I've had a few good dreams about us on this sofa" she breathes into Rachel's ear before starting to kiss her on her neck, "and trying them out might be fun."

A third and fourth button have come undone and Rachel can fell Quinn working on the fifth. She swallows and tries to control her breathing, "Just because we don't have to hide doesn't mean we have to rub her nose in it."

Quinn pops open the remaining buttons and slides her hand into Rachel's jeans, she slides her fingers between the other girls legs with only the thin material of Rachel's panties between her fingers and the diva's core. She can feel the heat of the other girl and the panties are already slightly damp.

"Really?" Quinn asks, sounding a little amused. She licks the shell of Rachel's ear then continues in a near whisper "And here I thought I was dating the girl that wanted to be fucked against the piano in the auditorium while the other Cheerios watch."

Rachel can't help but whimper at that and Quinn feels the girl's reaction on her fingers, a flush of wetness suddenly soaking her underwear.

"Ah, apparently I still am."

She moves her hand and pushes her fingers under Rachel's panties, a moment later her fingers are in direct contact with the wet heat of Rachel's core. The diva tries to turn but Quinn stops her.

"On no, you stay there. Just enjoy." Quinn says before returning her lips to Rachel's neck and shoulder.

She cups Rachel, her fingers pressing against the diva's entrance and her palm against the girl's clit. She presses gently enjoying the feel of the girl's most intimate area against her hand and can't help but giggle when Rachel whimpers again and starts to wiggle against her. Quinn pulls her hand forward until her finger tips are circling Rachel's swollen nub and Rachel's hips jerk forward, pushing her harder against the contact. She brought one foot up, her knee pointing up from the sofa and giving me more room, but her jeans pull tight and press my hand even harder against her and we both whimper.

I feel Rachel wriggling in front of me, her arms moving as she pushes her jeans and panties down around her thighs and suddenly Quinn's hand was cool and damp in the air and Quinn feels Rachel shudder when the air hits her center.

"Fuck"

Quinn slides her hand back down between the diva's legs, covering her for a moment and protecting her from the cool air.

"Quinn…" Rachel moans

"Tell me what you want baby" Quinn whispers in Rachel's ear.

"Quit fucking around and fuck me!" declares Rachel, maybe a little too loudly.

Quinn's fingers tease Rachel's entrance then slide back and forth through her folds.

"Are you thinking about us laying on that piano?" Quinn asks, breathing into Rachel's ear, "Your spankies down around your ankles" she pushes Rachel's jeans and panties down with one foot and the girl kicks them off.

"Uniform skirt thrown up, your legs open to the world and we're surrounded by the rest of the Cheerios, all watching us." Her hand is moving faster between Rachel's legs, sliding along her folds and teasing her clit and the girl is whimpering in front of her.

"Maybe some of them have their hands in their own spankies, fucking themselves as the watch my fingers slide into you." Quinn pushes two fingers slowly into Rachel as she says this, the diva is so wet she slides in without any resistance and both girls moan as Rachel's pussy closes around the blonde's fingers.

"All their eyes trained on your pussy, watching as my fingers slide in and out", Quinn moves her fingers to echo her words, "My thumb working your clit and me sucking on your neck."

When Quinn's thumb connects with Rachel's clit, the diva's hips buck and a shudder travels through her body and Quinn sucks hard on her neck, on the spur of the moment deciding to leave her with a hicky.

"Fuck Quinn" Rachel gasps

Quinn's fingers are sliding in and out of Rachel almost as fast as she can go. She can feel the diva is almost there, the beginnings of her orgasm flutter around Quinn's fingers and her body is vibrating against the blonde. Quinn moves her lips to the pulse point on Rachel's collar, sucking and licking to leave another hicky.

She pumps her fingers in and out easily adding a third as she does, twisting them just right and suddenly Rachel stiffens before her, her fingers are being squeezed like they're in a vice as Rachel's orgasm pulses around them and her whole body shakes. She gasps and moans and clamps her hand over her mouth to stop herself screaming while she comes, and then she relaxes while Quinn's fingers slow their movements until both girls are unmoving except for panting heavily.

Quinn slides her fingers out of Rachel eliciting a whimper from the girl and brings them to her lips. Rachel turns in time to watch Quinn sucking them thoroughly before licking up the last of the diva's honey. Their lips press together and Rachel tastes herself on Quinn, then suddenly she's gone and Quinn is disorientated by the sudden departure until she feels hands on her hips and her spankies and panties are suddenly being dragged down her legs and discarded next to Rachel's jeans.

Rachel's lips close around Quinn's clit and the blonde can't help but gasp and buck her hips towards the other girl. She twists around until she's lying on her back on the sofa and Rachel settles herself between Quinn's legs. Rachel knows Quinn is very close, just having her fingers in the diva had been enough to get the blonde all worked up. Her panties came away wet and Rachel can smell the girls scent easily, then again she did almost have her nose in the source of that scent.

She runs her fingers over Quinn's folds, soaking them in her honey and making the blonde shudder and moan at the same time. She finds the girls core and spends a few moments just running the tips of her fingers over and around it, giggling at the shudders that the touches produced in the blonde.

"Shit Rach" Quinn gasps, "Why must you… always tease…?"

Rachel grins and thrusts two fingers deep into Quinn in one smooth movement, she goes in deep and easily, Quinn really is that soaked, and the blonde's whole body arches off of the couch and she makes a guttural moan that makes Rachel shudder. Rachel laps at Quinn's pussy, collecting as much of the blonde's juices as she can, running her tongue over and around her clit before burying it in the other girls folds again.

"God… so close…" Quinn gasps.

Rachel adds a thirds finger the next time she pulls out of Quinn, the stretching sensation causes Quinn to moan loudly and she clamps a hand over her mouth. Rachel works her fingers back and forth a few more times, her tongue teasing the other girls entrance where the diva's fingers disappear inside, and then Quinn's legs are locked around her head, the blondes whole body bucks and shakes as she clamps down around Rachel's fingers. A fresh flood of juiced fills the diva's mouth and she drinks greedily, still moving her fingers inside the blonde to enhance the orgasm.

Quinn relaxes and Rachel slides out of her. A moment later they lay side by side on the sofa, the diva offering Quinn her soaked fingers to suck on and then its Quinn's turn to taste herself on Rachel's lips. They kiss for a long time, both enjoying the afterglow before Quinn makes a suggestion.

"Let's go to bed."

The girls collect their clothes and climb the stairs, both still naked from the waist down apart from Quinn's uniform skirt, and retire to Quinn's room.


	36. Chapter 36

**Authors Note:** Sorry for the delay posting this, I've had a little computer issue (it died) and I had to put together a machine from spare parts and things I could borrow, hopefully this will hold together until I can get replacement parts.

For those also reading New York Hot, I've not given up on it, I'm hoping to get another chapter out at the middle of the week.

A final note, this is unedited, I'll read over it tomorrow and fix any big bloopers.

* * *

In the end Rachel couldn't wait until Friday to sing for Quinn, she decided she was adequately prepared by Wednesday morning so instead of heading to the cafeteria at lunch time, she heads to the auditorium and unpacks the picnic she had prepared for the two of them. The piano is there and ready, and once she's warmed up both her vocal chords and her fingers, she sends a text to Quinn asking her to come as soon as she can.

Only a few minutes later the top doors to the auditorium crash open and a certain blond comes charging through.

"Rachel! Are you okay?" Quinn calls out and she dashes down the aisle to the stage.

"I'm fine Quinn" Rachel confirms looking a little confused.

"You texted me 'Come to the auditorium, Quick!'" Quinn explains after breathing a sigh of relief as she climbs the stairs onto the stage, "I thought something was wrong."

"Oh, I'm sorry Honey" Rachel says blushing slightly as the term of affection slips out, "I just wanted to sing for you."

Rachel guides Quinn to the chair specially positioned for her before the piano and returns to her seat on the piano bench. She looks over to the blond and smiles before resting her fingers on the keyboard, taking a deep breath and starting to play.

_I have heard it said so many times, "Love is blind"_  
_So why are you staring?_  
_You say that love is all we need, well_  
_Does that apply to me?_

Rachel raises her head and look directly at Quinn as she sings the next lines.

_'Cause I have found someone_  
_That I think is beautiful_  
_And I have fallen in love_  
_And I'm telling you_

_She_  
_Means everything to me_  
_She_  
_Makes me feel nothing else matters_  
_Not even what the world thinks of me_

Quinn sits on the chair watching the other girl, listening intently to the song. She blushes slightly whenever Rachel's gaze falls on her.

_They told me when I was a little girl, "Love's a pearl -_  
_You're lucky if you find it,_  
_So share that precious beauty with the world,"_  
_Now suddenly they say I've got to hide it_

_But I have found true love_  
_And there is nothing you can do_  
_Just try and stop me, just try and stop us_  
_Good luck to you,_

_'cause_

_She_  
_Means everything to me_  
_She_  
_Makes me feel nothing else matters_  
_Not even what the world thinks of me_

_(She...she...she...)_

_It's simple as can be_  
_I love her, she loves me_  
_This is what everybody dreams of_  
_There's nothing to be afraid of,_  
_There's nothing to be afraid of,_  
_After all it's only love_

_'cause_

_She_  
_Means everything to me_  
_She_  
_Makes me feel nothing else matters_  
_Not even what the world thinks of me?_

The last notes of the tune die away as Rachel and Quinn stare at each other for a moment, a single tear rolling down Quinn's cheek. Rachel rises and stands before Quinn taking her hands and pulling her to her feet.

"I just wanted to let you know how I feel" Rachel says nervously, "That I love you too."

"Rach, I lo.." Quinn begins, "Wait, too? When did I…" and then she remembers the offhand comment, "Oh no."

She deflates back into the chair, head in her hands and all Rachel can hear is "no" repeated a few times. Rachel feels her heart sink as she observes Quinn's reaction, does the girl not love her after all. Was it just wishful thinking, was she jumping the gun?

"Does that mean you don't…" she finds she can't even say the word anymore, "feel that way?"

"Oh no, no! I mean yes, I do Rach. I do love you." Quinn says tripping over her own words, "It wasn't supposed to be like that, not some casual phrase when I was feeling down after Beth left, it was supposed to be special when I told you."

"But it was Honey, don't you see?" Rachel assures her, "Because it was so casual, because you meant it when you said it, because you didn't have to think about it. That's what made it special. The truth made it special."

Rachel pulls Quinn up from the chair and into her arms, "I love you Quinn."

"I love you too Rach." Quinn replies and kisses the diva.

Neither girl sees the door at the top of the auditorium swing closed as someone sneaks out.

Quinn's hands find Rachel's hips and walks the other girl back until she's pressed into the curve of the grand piano. Quinn's arms wrap around the smaller girl, pulling their bodies tight together as they kiss and Quinn's thigh slips between Rachel's legs to press against her core causing the diva to moan into Quinn's mouth. Quinn moves her hands round onto Rachel's ass, giving it a little squeeze and surprising the other girl before lifting her up. Rachel's legs automatically wrap around Quinn's hips and this time it's the blonde's turn to moan only cut off when Rachel's tongue slides between her lips.

Quinn keeps lifting Rachel until she's up sitting on the piano and has to bed forward to keep her lips on Quinn's. They break, gasping for breath and Rachel looks questioningly down at the blond now standing between her legs. Quinn grins up at her, an evil glint in her eye, and her hands slip up under Rachel's skirt, her fingers slipping into the waistband and starting to pull them down."

"Quinn!" Rachel exclaims, "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like Rach?" Quinn asks back, deliberately licking her lips.

"We can't, not here!"

"Why not Rach?" Quinn asks, her hand sliding between Rachel's legs to slowly rub her outside her spankies.

"Anyone could come in…" Rachel objects though a little weakly given where Quinn's hand was right then.

"I thought that's what you wanted Rach, to be taken here against the piano?" Quinn asks, "Oh, maybe you want the Cherrios to watch? I could call Santana…"

"NO!" Rachel interrupts loudly but Quinn can see her eyes dilate and feel the heat of the other girl's core intensify against her hand.

"Mmmm, the mind says no, but the body says yes." Quinn teases and Rachel blushes violently. Quinn smiles and gently pushes Rachel to lay back on the piano, "But I think I'll make do with just us right now" she says with a grin. "And when I'm done eating you, we can eat that picnic."

She pulls Rachel's spankies and panties down over her feet and tosses them up onto the piano next to the other girl. Hands on the diva's thighs she applies a little pressure and Rachel opens for her, gasping slightly as the cool air hits her core and Quinn pushes the panels of the diva's skirt up out of the way and licks her lips. She runs her hand up the smaller girl's thigh, the tips of the fingers brushing over the girl's folds and Rachel shudders and moans at the touch.

"Quinn…." She pleads.

Quinn grins as she runs her fingers through Rachel's folds, collecting the other girl's nectar before sliding two deep into her core without warning sliding in easily and Rachel's back and head comes right up off the piano as she gasp in reaction. Rachel ends up braced on her elbows looking down her body and watching Quinn's fingers slide in and out of her, her mouth hanging open and her eyes devouring the sight of two soaked digits sliding back and forth.

Quinn lowers her head between Rachel's legs and probes the other girl's folds with her tongue. She savors the taste for a moment before using her tongue to stroke the diva's clit and Rachel shudders, collapsing back off her elbows to land with a thump and a moan on the piano. Quinn's tongue works along Rachel's folds, lapping at the juices the diva produces as her fingers slide in and out of the other girl.

Rachel moans and groans, her hands scrabbling at the smooth surface of the piano as she attempts to find something to hold on to. Quinn's tongue works between Rachel's legs, the blonde's mouth flooded with Rachel's taste as her tongue circles the diva's clit once more. She sucks it into her mouth, tongue teasing it as she slides a third finger into Rachel's soaked core.

"Fuck" Rachel gasps, "I'm close…"

The possibility of begin discovered and Quinn's teasing about an audience had effected Rachel badly, she wasn't going to last much longer and her hand went on autopilot, tangling itself in Quinn's hair and pushing the blonde's face against her. Quinn's hand pumps faster, she pulls the diva's clit into her mouth again trapping it gently between her teeth only releasing it when she feels the other girl clench around her fingers.

Rachel curls up over Quinn's head, her legs closing around the blonde's head as she screams out Quinn's name, her voice echoes throughout the auditorium. Quinn keeps her hand moving, helping the diva through her orgasm as her tongue laps up the honey Rachel produces. Once Rachel collapses back on the piano Quinn removes her hand, licking her fingers clean then doing the same to Rachel's pussy and steps back watching the other girl's chest rise and falls as she recovers on the piano.

When Rachel recovers she sits up, sliding off the piano and landing slightly unsteadily on her feet. She turns and looks in dismay at the wet streak on the wood.

"I'm never going to be able to look at this piano again." She sighs.

There's a giggle from Quinn's direction, she's sitting by the picnic and helping herself to the food. "It's what you wanted baby."

Rachel blushes as she looks around for her underwear and she only finds it when she looks over at Quinn and sees her holding it up hooked over one finger. She walks over to the other girl but as she reaches for them, Quinn pulls her hand away hiding them under the cushion she's sitting on.

"Give me my clothes" Rachel demands while stomping her foot.

Quinn just giggles, "After we've eaten… Maybe." She lifts up the front panel of Rachel's skirt, observing the girl carefully. "Anyway, you need to dry off a little before you put them back on."

* * *

A hand closed around Rachel's arm as she walks the corridor to her last class of the day and she's pulled into an otherwise empty class room. She turns, expecting to find Quinn or Santana or, at a push, Finn but finds someone else totally.

"You!" she declares, "Don't you dare touch me!"

"Shut up Dyke, you'll do as I tell you."

Rachel's eyes go wide with the surprise but the other person in the room just smirks.

"Oh yes, I saw you and the blond in the auditorium today. Imagine my surprise when I see the head cheerleader and you making out against the piano. I had to leave before I threw up."

"What we do is none of your business…" Rachel begins hotly but gets interrupted.

"Shut Up!" Jesse shouts at her, "You'll speak with I say you can." He takes a breath and continues in a calmer voice. "No one else knows do they? Maybe those other two dykes but otherwise it's your little secret isn't it?"

He doesn't give Rachel a chance to answer. "Well if you want to keep it that way, you'll do as I tell you. You'll come back to New Directions and you'll bring everyone else back with you. You'll be my leading lady as I drag all your useless asses to a victory that you'd never achieve alone. I will be the star, I will be in charge and I will win nationals again! And you will all do as I say and like it, because if you don't" he steps towards Rachel jabbing his finger at her and making her step back, "or if you tell anyone why, I'll make sure your little secret gets out. Got it?"

Again he gives Rachel no chance to respond as he turns and head towards the classroom door, "And remember, tell no one, not even that blond of yours, or else."

"You've got until Monday practice!" he calls over his shoulder.

Rachel stands open-mouthed looking at the door that Jesse just walked through.


	37. Chapter 37

**Author's Note: **Firstly let me apologize about how long it has taken to get this chapter out. First I had New York Hot taken down which was a major disincentive to me (if you were following that story, check my profile for the website where you can find it now), then I had severe writers block, to be honest I'm not sure this chapter is as good as it could have been, but at this point I just want to get it out there and move on with the story. And finally my computer died on me. The motherboard, which was less than 6 months old, went kaput and I had to wait the best part of a month to get a replacement. Sigh. Anyway, please enjoy and be kind in the reviews please.

The following is unedited, I'll reread tomorrow and fix any typos.

* * *

Rachel wasn't an idiot, she'd admit she might be a little naive at times and even gullible, but not an idiot so the first thing she did before she'd even left the classroom that Jesse had dragged her into was to text Quinn, Santana and Brittany and ask them to convene at her house after Cheerios' practice.

The girls collect in Rachel's room as she runs through the story. The diva and Quinn reclining on the bed with their arms around each other, Brittany sits on Rachel's office chair and Santana is perched on the edge of her desk.

"And then he stormed out." She finishes.

There's silence for a few moments and even Brittany looks serious.

"I never liked the jackass" Santana says, "But I never thought he'd be homophobic. It almost doesn't sound like him."

Rachel nods in grudging agreement, "You should have seen his eyes, it was like it wasn't him anymore, they were wild and so very angry."

"Do you think everything's gotten to him?" Quinn asks, "I mean he's been failed, recruited by Sue and probably still has her breathing down his neck even though he isn't doing what she wants, transferred to be able to graduate and have a chance to win at Nationals and hoped to get back with Rach and seen his chance at Nationals and with Rach taken away from him. Could he have finally lost it?"

"It certainly looked like it" Rachel agrees, "But that doesn't help us decide what to do about it."

"It seems to me" Santana begins, "that you have two options, either do as he says so he keeps quiet or come out of the flannel closet."

"There is another option" offers Brittany, "and it would mean we could go back to Glee club. Let him tell everyone."

There is silence in the room and the other three girls turn to look at the dancer for clarification but she says no more until Santana prompts her.

"How does that help Britt?"

"Didn't anyone listen to Principal Figgins at the start of the year assembly?" she asks and when the others look at her blankly she sighs, "The Students Rights thing?"

"I remember that" Quinn says obviously thinking hard, "Something about treating each other right or suffering the consequences."

Santana couldn't help the explosive chuckle that she produced, "Like that's happened."

But Brittany is nodding, "There's a bit in there about hemophobia."

"Homophobia Britt" Santana corrects automatically

"Yeah" the blonde confirms, "that. I checked."

"And what's the consequence for homophobia?" Quinn asks.

"Expansion" Brittany supplies smiling happily.

Santana chuckles at the mental image of Jesse inflating like a balloon. "You mean expulsion Babe?" she asks and when Brittany nods she adds "Well that's one way of dealing with it."

The four sit there for a while, all aware that in the end it's up to Rachel and Quinn to make the decision. Three choices, one means working with Jesse which neither of them wants, and two that mean that, one way or another, their secret is out at school.

Rachel tries to find the silver lining, "Well, at least we wouldn't have to hide at school."

Quinn looks a little dubious, "Are you ready to be out at school Rach?" she asks.

Rachel just shrugs, "More than I'm willing to work with Jesse. What about you?"

Quinn just smiles, "I faced my worst fear when I told my Mom and that worked out okay. And I'm sure Santana and I can keep everyone in line at school, especially if someone gets kicked out for outing us in the first place."

"So do we tell everyone or wait and see what Jesse does?" Rachel asks.

"If we're going to be forced out, I want to get the most out of it and that means getting rid of Jackass."

Rachel pouts, "I just don't like the idea of the Glee club finding out like that."

Quinn considers this for a moment, then she has a suggestion, "Well we could tell them on Friday and ask them to keep it to themselves."

Santana scoffs, "You think Wheezy will be able to keep it to herself for a whole weekend?"

Quinn smirks, "I'm sure you'll be able to take care of that Santana."

"Oh!" Rachel says, "We should sing a duet!"

And with that Rachel dives for her computer and starts searching through iTunes, joined a little reluctantly by Quinn. Santana and Brittany take that as their excuse to make an exit, the Latina needed some sweet lady kisses.

* * *

The itch between Quinn's shoulders started as soon as she stepped out of her car in the student parking lot on Thursday morning. It wasn't a physical itch, no amount of scratching would help, but the irrational itch that says everyone is looking at you, whispering about you, judging you. True Quinn was used to being looked at, but usually that was with awe and respect, fear and occasionally loathing. The only person she was used to looking at her judgmentally was her father and he really didn't count any more.

The blonde wonders if this is how Rachel felt every day as she waited for the next slushy to be thrown in her face and is amazed that the diva managed to keep her positive and upbeat outlook on life. She frowns as she considers for a moment how much pain and stress that she must have put her girlfriend through, that she'd been directly or indirectly responsible for, and she vows to do whatever she can no matter how long it takes, to make it up to the other girl. She doesn't even register the students glancing at her expression then scurrying out of her way.

Her frown turns to a smile as she sees Rachel in front of her locker and, as if she can feel Quinn's eyes on her, the diva turns unhesitatingly to look directly at the blonde and smiles back. Quinn stops close enough to Rachel that she could reach out and wrap her arms around her and it takes a surprising amount of effort to resist doing exactly that. They just gaze at each other, matching smiles on their faces and totally oblivious to the world about them until they both jump when Santana not so subtly clears her throat right next to them. Rachel's hand shoots to her chest as she recovers from the surprise but Quinn just rolls her eyes and glares at Santana.

"What?" Santana asks, "If you'd kept on like that you wouldn't have had to wait for Jackass to spill the beans."

"San has a point" Brittany adds as she bounces on her toes next to her girlfriend "You two were totally eye sexing each other."

Quinn glances around to see if anyone has heard Brittany's comment but the corridor is blessedly clear for the moment so it doesn't look like anyone else heard.

"Britt, use your quiet voice Babe." Santana says gently as she wraps her arm around the blonde's waist and pulls them together, "Remember no one else knows yet and we need to keep it that way."

Brittany's face falls immediately and before she can get a word out, Rachel is already assuring her that everything is okay and she doesn't need to worry. Quinn can't help but smile as she remembers Rachel being just as kind and gentle with Beth not that long ago and it strikes her, not for the first time, just how good a mother Rachel would be.

It takes Quinn a moment to realize that Santana and Brittany have left for their class. Rachel needs to go too but Quinn has a free period next so they agree to meet at lunch time in the auditorium for some time alone together away from prying eyes. Quinn leans on the lockers and watches as Rachel walks away down the corridor and doesn't notice Puck walking up behind her.

"Hey" he greets her.

Once Quinn has her heart rate back under control she turns and glares at Puck.

"Must you sneak up on people like that?"

"I wasn't exactly sneaking" Puck points out, "It seems you were otherwise occupied." He looks along the corridor in the direction that Rachel had left in, "Watching anything good?"

Quinn just rolls her eyes again, she's been doing a lot of that recently, and glares at Puck. "What do you want Puck?"

"How long have you and Rachel been dating?" he asks.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Quinn says but she feels the blood draining from her face and the look on Pucks face says he doesn't believe a word of it. She steps closer to Puck and hisses at him "Who told you?"

This time it's Puck that rolls his eyes, "I'm not an idiot Quinn. She was there when I arrived to see Beth and she was still there when I left. I would have to have been blind to not see how you looked at her and how she looked at you. So how long?"

Quinn sighs accepting there was no way not to talk about this with Puck, "Officially almost three weeks but you can't tell anyone else Puck, not yet anyway."

"I wouldn't do that to you Quinn, I'm not an idiot. But when your Mom finds out, if you need a place to stay …"

Quinn shakes her head and cuts Puck off, "Thanks Puck but she already knows, I told her on Monday night and she's okay with it."

Puck nods, "I can't say I wasn't surprised when I worked it out, but if you are happy then I'm happy for you." He pauses, "She makes you happy right?"

"Happier than I ever thought I would be." Quinn confirms.

There's a pause then Puck asks the other question that's been on his mind, "Do you know when Beth will be back?"

"Not yet, but they plan to move here before Christmas. I'll let you know as soon as I know, I promise Puck, okay?"

"Okay" Puck agrees and heads off to his class.

* * *

Rachel was unsuccessfully attempting to concentrate on her homework when she heard the doorbell go and her Dad calling out that he'd get it. A few minutes later there's a gently knock on her door and Quinn opens it.

"Hi Rach"

"Hi Quinn" Rachel replies getting up from her chair and hugging the other girl, "I didn't think I'd see to till tomorrow."

"I was nervous about tomorrow and I figured you would be too, so I thought we'd take each others minds off it." She holds up the overnight bag she's carrying, "I asked your Dad if I could stay over, he said it was okay with him if it was okay with you."

"Of course Quinn!" Rachel declares as she takes the bag out of the blonde's hand and puts it down beside the bed. She turns back around, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend and pulling her over until the both fall back onto the bed, "No how are we going to distract each other?" she asks with a grin.

* * *

Breakfast the next morning was just Quinn and Rachel, Rachel's fathers already having left for work. Rachel can tell that Quinn is nervous about the day before them and while she is too, Rachel it pretty sure things will be better once it's all over.

"So, today's the day." Rachel says.

Quinn nods, "Yeah"

"We don't have to do this today Quinn, there's still time to come up with another idea."

Quinn shakes her head, "No Rach, I'm fine. It'll be good not to have to hide."

There are a few moments of silence between them then Rachel sighs, "Well, at least Santana, Brittany and Kurt already know. They'll help if we need it."

"And Puck" Quinn says.

"Puck knows?" Rachel asks in surprise, "Who told him?"

"He worked it out, he claimed. Said he'd seen how we looked at each other when he was here to see Beth."

Rachel thinks about that for a minute then nods, "Yeah, I guess we weren't too subtle right then."

"We had other things on our minds" Quinn agrees, "I think Mom might even have worked it out had she been here all weekend."

Rachel finishes her drink and looks at the clock, "Come on, we're going to be late for school."

* * *

Quinn was, deliberately, the last to arrive at the Trouble Tones practice in the auditorium that day. She'd watched from the end of the corridor as the others had arrived and, once sure everyone was there, had entered through one of the side doors onto the stage. She found Rachel as she'd hoped, sorting through sheet music on the piano on the stage while the rest of the group milled about around the stage. Quinn walked across the stage, nodding back at the friends that greeted her, until she stood next to Rachel.

"Remember the last time we stood here?" She asks with a grin as she runs her hand over the piano.

"I sincerely hope you're not planning a public repetition of that performance." Rachel teases, "And I really don't see why you wouldn't sing a duet with me."

"Because there are other ways to get the point across without singing Rach." Quinn says. She looks to the other members and shouts "You guys ready to practice?"

Once they have everyone's attention she turns back to Rachel, "Like this" she whispers then takes Rachel's face in her hands and pulls the diva into a passionate kiss.


	38. Chapter 38

**Authors Note: **Thank you all for the kind reviews, I'm glad you all liked the way Quinn came up with to get her point across, thinking that up was one of the major things that got me over my writers block.

Now for some of you the following chapter might make you a little worried, so before you decide to give up on the story, please do read the footnote. For those that don't want to ruin the story, skip the footnote.

* * *

Rachel's arms close around Quinn's waist and the two girl's bodies melt against each other as they both get lost in the kiss and for a moment Quinn was seriously considering a re-enactment of the last time the kissed against this particular piano.

"Get a room!"

It was Santana that had spoken and Quinn was glad that she had because the part of her mind that hadn't been fully involved in kissing Rachel had started to worry about the unnerving silence that had enveloped them all, but when Santana spoke the silence was broken and a flood of questions and exclamations was unleashed and right away it didn't sound like anything too bad. She broke the kiss, leaving both of them panting slightly and Rachel, rather red faced, pouted at her.

"You could have warned me." The diva says

Quinn just smirks at Rachel causing the other girl to huff and give Quinn a playful whack on the arm, but as they both turn to face their friends Rachel's hand slips into Quinn's and the blonde gives it a reassuring squeeze.

Quinn takes a moment to survey their friends and take in their reactions and she isn't surprised in the least that Brittany was beaming at them while bouncing lightly on her toes. Santana wasn't looking at her and Rachel but at the other members of the Trouble Tones, probably doing the same as Quinn was. Quinn skips Puck because she just doesn't need or want confirmation of what was going on in that particular head and finds Kurt also smiling at them. The others seemed to be in various states of shock or surprise, except Mercedes who has obviously figured out that Kurt already knew as was looking a little pissed off at him, and Finn whose expression Quinn couldn't read.

"So" Quinn begins, using her HBIC tone to cut through the general hubbub, "Do I really need to explain what that was about?"

"Let me get this straight" Mercedes says, "You two are an item? Since when?"

Rachel manages to answer first, "Yes Mercedes, Quinn and I are girlfriends and have been for a number of weeks. We're very happy together and we hope you'll accept us and be happy for us too."

Mercedes turns to Kurt with a hurt expression, "And you knew!" she accuses, "You knew and you didn't tell me?"

Rachel cuts in before Kurt can answer, "It's not his fault, I asked him not to tell. In fact we'd appreciate it if none of you would discuss this with anyone that isn't here right now and if you do talk about it, make sure no one else can overhear. Both our parents know and Quinn's Aunts, but that's all and for the moment we would like to keep it that way."

After some discussion, Quinn and Rachel had agreed not to tell anyone about Jesse's threat that didn't already know about it. They weren't entirely sure that certain members of the group, namely Puck, wouldn't decide to take matters into their own hands and dish out some justice of their own before the plan could be put into effect. Right now they didn't want to have any mitigating factors on Jesse's side of the argument.

They fielded all the obvious questions after that, how they'd gotten together, who else knew, how their parents had taken the news. They ignored the slightly tactless "So you two are gay now?" from Mike that earned him a smack on the arm from Tina and glared at Puck when he provided some really inappropriate questions, no one was answering those. In the end everyone agreed that, yes this was a surprised but a good one and that they'd respect the girls request and keep it to themselves for the moment. Both girls accepted that they'd be the subject of gossip possibly for some time, but they accepted that was inevitable and were okay with it. No one noticed that Finn was no longer present.

"So, now that's dealt with" Rachel said, still holding onto Quinn's hand, "I think we should get started with our preparations for Regionals, we are running out of time."

There's a general grumble from the group that doesn't sound like agreement to Rachel, "What?" she asks.

After more grumbling it was Tina that spoke up, "We know you said we'd go back to New Directions before Regionals even if Jesse was still there, but you're not the only one who has a problem with him and Mike and I for two don't want to go back if he's still there." Many of the others make agreeing noises.

"So, why are you all here?" Rachel asks, genuinely confused, "If you don't want to prepare for Regionals…"

"Rachel, there are other reasons to be in Glee club" Mercedes says, "Just being able to sing and dance with our friends."

"It's fun" Brittany adds nodding.

"It's the best part of my day" Santana adds with a shrug causing everyone to stare at her in surprise for a moment. "What?" she demands glaring at them all.

"If Jesse wasn't around, would you want to go to Sectionals?" Rachel asks.

The response this time is a collection of "Of course" and "Yeah's".

"Well, Jesse will be gone soon" Santana declares in a tone no-one wanted to disagree with, "So let's get our practice on!"

* * *

The practice had been liberating for Quinn and Rachel, being able to hold hands, hug or even kiss when they wanted to in front of their friends was such a relief that both girls were on a high at the end of the practice.

Even better, the practice had been productive despite the need for Santana to occasionally remind the girls to "Get a room". They decided to have a solo, a duet and then a group number and had agreed that Rachel and Quinn should do the duet, though it took some persuasion to get Quinn to agree. The solo was going to be open to anyone that wanted to try out and a group vote would be taken to determine a winner. Which just left the overall theme to be decided but since they couldn't agree this time, everyone was asked to bring ideas to the next practice and they'd decide then.

Almost everyone had left now, Rachel stood at the piano sorting through the sheet music while Quinn stood behind her with her arms around the shorter girl. Santana and Brittany were sitting on the edge of the stage making out because, according to Brittany, "Watching you two got me horny."

"Well that went pretty well" observes Quinn.

Rachel turns in the blondes arms and links her hands behind Quinn's neck, "What? The practice in general or when you assaulted me with your lips in front of everyone?"

"Both" Quinn giggles.

Rachel pulls Quinn down and their lips meet for a kiss. It's slow and sensual and Rachel loves it because she can do it without worrying who can see them since it's only them and Santana and Brittany there. Both the girls are looking forward to not having to worry about anyone seeing them, though getting there might not be a pleasant process.

"Get a room!" Santana shouts from across the stage.

"Look who's talking" Quinn responds after finally coming up for air, by which time Santana's lips were attached to Brittany's again.

"So" Begins Rachel a little shyly, "My Dads are away this weekend and I was wondering if you'd like to stay over for a bit, watch some movies, maybe sit in the hot tub?"

Rachel's intention had been to invite Quinn over, but apparently Quinn wasn't going to be all she was getting.

"Sure Midget" Santana says as she jumps off the edge of the stage, pulling Brittany with her, "We'll see you there in a couple of hours."

Before Rachel or Quinn can say anything, Santana has pulled Brittany behind her and out of the side door that is next to the stage.

"Did Santana just invite herself and Brittany over to my house for the weekend, again?" Rachel asks somewhat bemused.

"Looks like it" Quinn answers after a moment.

"I hope they don't have sex on Daddy's chair again."

"What, you want to be watched but can't watch others?" Quinn asks then leans down to whisper in Rachel's ear, "Maybe we should make them watch you this time." She teases earning herself a slap on the arm from the diva.

* * *

By the time the girls sit down to the first movie that night all four have changed out of their Cheerios uniforms, most to sweatpants and tops but Quinn is wearing a sundress. Brittany is sitting on Santana's lap on Rachel's Daddy's chair again, but for the moment both girls appear to be behaving themselves.

Rachel has been running back and forward to the kitchen for drinks and snacks but now comes to sit on the sofa next to Quinn who promptly pulls the diva onto her lap.

"You have to stop running around after everyone and relax baby, if anyone wants anything they can go get it themselves." Quinn says while snuggling against the diva.

"I'm just trying to be a good hostess Quinn" Rachel huffs.

"And if this was a dinner party or something that would be fine, but we're just friends hanging out watching a movie, relax."

"Quinn's got a point Berry" Santana adds, "Sometimes you're just too freakin uptight."

"So why are we watching The Lion King?"

"Britt wanted to." Santana says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The next movie was a musical, Rachel's choice this time, and the diva was still sitting on Quinn's lap and singing along with the soundtrack. Quinn's hand started out on the diva's knee and at first Rachel didn't notice as it slowly made its way up her thigh but once it makes its way further up she casually pushes it away while continuing to watch the movie. The second time Quinn's hand starts its climb, she pushes it away a little more strongly and the third time earns Quinn a small slap on the back of her hand.

Quinn puts her arms around Rachel's waist causing the diva leans back against her girlfriend and it's only when Quinn's hand is already in Rachel's sweat pants that she realises what the other girl is up to. Rachel's hand closes around Quinn's forearm just as the blondes hand cups the other girl and at that moment any intention Rachel had to fight Quinn left her. Rachel suppresses a moan as Quinn's finger tips stroke her through her already damp panties, she glances over at the other girls but for the moment they are blissfully unaware of what is going on.

Rachel whimpers slightly as Quinn's fingers leave her but she gasps moments later when the blondes hand pushes into her panties and her fingers are back without the thin material separating them from Rachel. The diva turns, burying her face in Quinn's neck and wrapping her arms around the other girl as she tries to remain silent.

"God you're soaked already Rach" Quinn whispers into the diva's ear.

All Rachel can do is moan quietly as Quinn's fingers stroke her slowly, she was soaked as soon as Quinn's fingers had touched her skin on skin and she was pretty sure it would be obvious to anyone even through the thick sweat pants. Quinn takes Rachel's almost silence as encouragement and her fingers explore the other girl, finding her already swollen clit and stroking it lightly causing the diva to shudder on top of her and Quinn smiles at the reaction. She pushes her fingers down, further between Rachel's legs until she finds the diva's entrance and slowly circles it with her fingers. Rachel moans again and her hips buck up slightly pushing her towards Quinn's fingers and the blonde takes the hint and pushes two fingers into the other girl.

It only takes a few thrusts until Rachel is overtaken by her orgasm and this time the diva can't, or doesn't try to, contain her moans as she clamps around Quinn's fingers and shakes on the blonde's lap as she helps her through her high. Once Rachel regains her senses and Quinn has removed her hand and is licking her fingers clean, the diva glances over at the other girls who are watching her, Brittany with a look of surprise and Santana with a learning smirk and she remembers Quinn's words from earlier.

"Maybe we should make them watch you this time."

'You didn't say doing what' Rachel thinks as she twists in the blonde's lap and slides off ending up kneeling on the floor looking up at a surprised Quinn with a smirk. She grabs the blond behind the knees and pulls her forward, causing her to fall back on the sofa and her dress to ride up revealing her lacy knickers. Quinn tries to push her dress down but Rachel has already pushed it up further and holds it there as she buries her face in the blonde's crotch, her tongue probing Quinn through her panties.

Quinn loses the will to fight as fast as Rachel did and moments later the diva had the blonde's panties off and discarded on the floor as she sucks on her clit. Quinn seems to have forgotten there is anyone else in the room and moans loudly as Rachel's tongue works on her. Rachel sucks and licks and pushes her tongue into Quinn causing the blonde to buck and writhe below her.

"More Rach…" Quinn gasps, "I need… more…"

Rachel can only smile as she sucks on her girlfriend's clit and places two fingers at her entrance, pushing them into her in one fast smooth movement and eliciting another gasp of pleasure and moments later Quinn clamps down on the diva's fingers as she comes shouting Rachel's name.

Once Quinn's body relaxes, Rachel extracts her fingers and climbs up her girlfriend's body to lay with her on the couch. She looks over to the other two girls who are sitting stunned looking at them with their mouths open and eyes bugged out. She meets Santana's eyes as she smirks and slowly licks her fingers clean.

Santana shoots to her feet almost throwing Brittany to the ground but she catches the other girl and drags her across the room to the foot of the stairs. She looks back at Rachel and Quinn, her mouth opening and closing a few times as she appears to be trying to say something, then both girls are gone and a moment later Rachel hears a door slam followed a few minutes later by a loud moan from Brittany.

That night Rachel and Quinn find that a soundproof room can keep noise out as well as keeping it in.

* * *

**Author's Footnote: **For those of you worried about this turning into something more than Faberry and Brittana as separate relationships, don't! I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, while there might be some teasing and flirting there is never going to be more than that.


	39. Chapter 39

**Authors Note: **Being Scottish, Homecoming and Thanksgiving are foreign concepts to me. Luckily I remembered about Thanksgiving before we got there in the story timeline, but are Homecoming dances usually that late in the school year? No idea, but it's going to for this story.

* * *

Breakfast was a non-event that Saturday at the Berry house. Rachel and Quinn were too comfortable wrapped up in each other, literally, to even think about getting up and Santana and Brittany were still recovering from their late night exercise the previous evening. So it was pretty much lunch time before anyone makes it to the kitchen but once the smell of food cooking makes its way up the stairs, rumbling stomachs bring all of the girls down to eat. The atmosphere is a little… tense.

Santana and Brittany sit on one side of the table with Santana paying a lot of attention to her food while Quinn sits opposite Brittany. Rachel is bustling around the kitchen making sure everyone has what they want for lunch but now she sits across from Santana, elbows on the table and chin resting on her hand and eyes on Santana.

"Did you sleep well Santana?" she asks with a smirk.

Since she came down the stairs, almost unwillingly dragged down by Brittany, Santana hasn't been able to look either Rachel or Quinn in the eye and Rachel was pretty sure the Latina blushed every time they came anywhere near her.

"I slept adequately thank you."

"Adequately?" teases Quinn cocking an eyebrow at Santana, "You're sounding a lot like Rach this morning."

Santana tries to glare at Quinn but can't make her eyes stay on the other girl, much to Quinn and Rachel's amusement.

"She slept like a dog" Brittany said between mouthfuls of Cheerio's

"Like a log Britt" Santana corrects automatically.

"Yeah" Brittany nods, "She wore herself out with all that sex. I could have gone again." She adds with a thoughtful look.

"Britt!" Santana exclaims.

"What?" Brittany looks confused, "At least I didn't tell them I hardly had to touch you before you came last night."

Santana closes her eyes and drops her head to the table with a thud as Rachel and Quinn giggle at her, "You just did Britt."

Rachel collects her lunch and heads around the table to take it into the living room but pauses standing behind Santana, she brushes some stray stands of hair off of the girls shoulder and rests her hand there and brings her lips down to Santana's ear.

"Did you enjoy what you saw Sanny?" she asks softly into the Latina's ear but loud enough that the other two girls can hear. She smirks as Santana flushes, "I bet your all wet again just thinking about it."

She leans forward over Santana's shoulder looking down towards her lap and the other girl unconsciously brings her legs together causing Rachel to giggle slightly. The diva straightens up and just when Santana thinks she's gone, her hear reappears over the Latina's other shoulder.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about watching Santana" she says then disappears.

Once she manages to get herself back under control, Santana looks over at Quinn, "How come you aren't freaking out about this?"

"About what?" Quinn asks popping a piece of food into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully, "Oh, you mean about having sex in front of you?" She eyes Santana as she blushes again while Brittany giggles from her seat. "We've seen each other naked hundreds of times in the Cheerios locker room Santana." She shrugs and smiles shyly, leaning forward resting her elbows on the table and, incidentally, showing off her cleavage. "I know you looked" she says in a sultry tone, "I know you thought about it and maybe…" she trails off slowly licking her lips as she runs her eyes up and down the other girls body, then shrugs again sitting back in her chair, "But what's done is done and I don't see the point in freaking out about it."

Santana is sitting with her mouth open, "You mean if I'd asked…" she manages.

Quinn smiles and gets up from the table pausing for a moment trailing her fingers over Santana's shoulder where Rachel's had been a moment before, "I guess we'll never know." she says with a smirk.

She pauses for a moment then speaks to Brittany, "Santana might need a little help relaxing Britt, she feels a little… mmm… tense."

Moments later Quinn is cuddling with Rachel on the sofa when Brittany's voice can be clearly heard from the kitchen, "Are we going to have sweet lady kisses Sanny?" followed by two pairs of feet thumping up the stairs and a door slamming closed.

"Would you really have… you know… with Santana?" Rachel asks. She remembers that Quinn was the one to pursue her and she wonders if the blonde might have had, and maybe still had, a thing for her best friend.

"Nope" Quinn says so surely that Rachel has no doubt she's telling the truth, "But it's so much fun to embarrass her for a change."

* * *

Surprisingly Santana and Brittany don't make a run for it when they venture downstairs again a little later and Rachel and Quinn decide not to tease the Latina any more, for the moment anyway. Then question then became what they should do for the remainder of the day. It was too cold to sit by the pool and while the hot tub would have been fun for a while, no one was very keen on sitting in it for hours on end.

Once again it was Brittany that came up with the idea, "Homecoming dance is in a couple of weeks just before the Thanksgiving break, we should go dress shopping."

"Homecoming! How did I forget?!" declares Rachel springing to her feet, "Come on, move! Showers everyone! Santana, Brittany separate showers for you two. And you" she says pointing to Quinn, "can use my shower after me."

When no one moves immediately, Rachel huffs and stamps her foot, "Move!"

Quinn and Santana roll their eyes and Brittany giggles but all four girls climb the stairs once more and head to various showers and a little over an hour later they are all ready to head to the stores.

"Okay, I've got a list of stores we should visit…" Rachel begins

"Hold up Berry" Santana interrupts, "When the hell did you have time to make a list?"

Rachel looks at Santana blankly, "When Quinn was in the shower…?" she says and it comes out more like a question.

Santana sighs and pulls the list of about twenty stores out of Rachel's hand and examines it. "Here, here and here" she says pointing to three stores on the list, "Those are the best stores in town and if they don't have anything, nowhere will. I'm not being dragged around every two-bit dress shop in town"

It was in the fifth store they visited that Brittany started acting oddly. Quinn and Santana have found their dresses, Rachel hasn't been so lucky and Brittany has loved everything she's seen, hence why Santana is happily browsing through a fifth store and not bitching about being dragged around. Rachel and Quinn have ended up on one side of the store while Santana and Brittany are on the other, at least that's the case until Brittany dashes across the room, grabs Quinn's arm and sets about dragging her out of the store.

"Britt! What's going on?" Quinn asks.

"We have to go back to the last store…"

And that is all Rachel can here Brittany reply before the store door closes behind them. She's standing mouth open in surprise at the hasty departure of the two girls when she feels Santana arriving beside her.

"What was that about?" she asks not looking away from the store door.

"In theory Britt wants Quinn's help looking at a dress she doesn't want me to see before the dance." Santana says, "We're meeting them in the Lima Bean in an hour."

Rachel turns slowly to look at Santana, "In theory? And in reality?"

"In reality she's keeping Quinn away from us." Santana says, "Come with me."

Santana's hand closes around Rachel's wrist and she starts dragging the other girl across the store and the diva's eyes widen as she realises they are heading towards the changing rooms.

"Santana! Santana!" she says pulling back on her arm but she's unable to stop the progress across the store.

When they reach the other side of the store Rachel manages to get between Santana and the changing rooms before she's dragged into one of them.

"Look Santana" she says, "I know we've been teasing you a bit recently, and honestly I'm flattered you're interested, but I'm not going to have sex with you in the public changing room of a dress store!"

The last bit came out a little louder than Rachel intended and she glances around to see if anyone heard and in the process missing the look of surprise that flashes across Santana's features but is quickly hidden.

"So" Santana deadpans as she crosses her arms across her chest and cocks an eyebrow, "Your place or mine?"

Rachel's jaw drops and she starts to flush and Santana can't help but bark a laugh. "Okay Berry listen up. First, ewww just ewww. Second, If I wanted you" Santana steps close to Rachel and chuckles when the other girl gulps, "you'd be begging me to take you." she continues in a sultry voice.

After a moment she steps back and continues in a normal voice, "Third, I'm with Britt and I'm not about to cheat on her so the only way you'd have any chance of getting on this" she gestures to her own body, "would be if we invited you to a threesome." She pauses for a moment to think, "Or foursome if Quinn was into that." She adds casually.

Rachel's jaw drops open again and Santana smirks.

"Talking of Quinn; Fourth, you're her girlfriend. For some god-awful reason you actually make her happy, though I've no idea why. If Beth had come back into her life a few months ago she'd have fallen apart" Rachel opens her mouth to interject but Santana hold up a hand, "No, it's true whether you know it or not, but with you in her life she took it in her stride. You make her happy Rach, happier than she's been in a long time and I'm not about to fuck that up for her just for a hook-up with you."

"Fifth, ewww just ewww. And finally, get in there and try this on." This last sentence is punctuated by Santana spinning the diva around half a turn, thrusting a dress into Rachel's hands that she hadn't even noticed Santana carrying and encouraging her into the changing room by smacking her on the ass.

By the time Rachel turns back around, the curtain separating the changing room from the store has been pulled closed, with Santana on the other side she notes, and the Latina is back to bitching.

"And hurry up, I needs to get my coffee on."

"I'm sorry for making assumptions" Rachel begins as she hangs the dress on a hook and starts getting undressed, "It's just, you know, with last night and all the teasing…" she trails off not knowing what to say.

"Yeah, yeah whatever" a bored sounding Santana replies, "Just get a move on Midget."

Rachel climbs out of her jeans and carefully takes the dress off the hanger and steps into it. It's strapless so she slides the straps of her bra off her shoulders to hide them under the dress then zips the dress up the side finding that it fits her perfectly. She turns and looks in the mirror for the first time and her breath catches in her throat. She's standing in sneakers with her hair pretty much a mess and only casual makeup on but she can't help but think she looks stunning.

"Ready Santana?" she asks then opens the curtain when the Latina grunts in response.

Santana looks up from the magazine she's been flicking through as she waited for the other girl to change and Rachel sees her swallow thickly as her eyes travel up and down the diva's body. Rachel giggles when she notes that Santana's eyes falter when they reach her breasts.

"Do you like what you see?" the diva asks giving a little twirl.

"Yeah" Santana croaks, "Yeah, buy it."

* * *

Rachel does buy the dress and arranges with the store to pick it up later so as not to spoil the surprise for Quinn. The pair have made it to the Lima Bean before Quinn and Brittany and are sitting on opposite sides of a booth with their coffee waiting for the others to arrive.

"So who asked who to the dance?" Santana asks idly.

"What?" Rachel asked sounding surprised.

"The Homecoming dance? Did you ask Quinn or did she ask you?"

"Er, no"

"No?" Santana asks looking surprised, "You haven't asked her?"

"And she hasn't asked me!" Rachel says defensively. When Santana rolls her eyes she adds "And I suppose you've asked Brittany?"

Santana nods, "Of course I did, months ago." She shrugs, "I just forgot about the dress shopping."

Rachel covers her face with her hands, "What am I going to do?!"

"Just ask her, it's not like she's going to say no." Santana observes.

"I can't just ask her!" Rachel declares dramatically, "It's our first dance together; it needs to be done right. Romantically."

"I don't think Quinn's going to be bothered if it isn't 'Romantic'" Santana observes, complete with air-quotes around the last word.

"That's not the point." Rachel huffs.

Santana sighs and rolls her eyes; "Okay fine, this is what we're going to do…" she begins.


	40. Chapter 40

**Authors Note:** Thank you all for the feedback and explanations of Homecoming and thanksgiving. For those of you that think the dance is too late for Homecoming, just replace "Homecoming" with "Winter Formal"

This chapter has turned out a little fluffy, hope you all like it.

* * *

Brittany drags a slightly frazzled Quinn through the Lima Bean front door about twenty minutes later which has given Santana and Rachel plenty of time to make plans. Brittany heads straight over to the booth while Quinn goes to get some much needed coffee.

"So did you like the dress?" Brittany asks Rachel as she slides in next to Santana then gives her girlfriend a little kiss.

"It was perfect Brittany." Rachel nods

"I told you she'd look great in it" Brittany says to Santana as she bounces in her seat next to the girl.

"Yeah you did Britt" Santana agrees, "But remember we can't let Quinn know about it, okay?"

Brittany nods and a few moments later Quinn joins them, setting a strawberry milkshake in front of Brittany before taking a long swallow from her own cup.

"Are you okay honey?" Rachel asks

Quinn nods and sighs, "It's just a little tiring going shopping with Brittany."

This receives an agreeing nod from Santana, "Sometimes I don't know where she gets all the energy from."

Brittany pouts at the Latina, "You never complain about my energy in the bedroom." She observes causing Santana to blush and the other two girls to giggle.

Luckily conversation turns from Brittany and Santana's bedroom activities and the four girls spend some time just enjoying each other's company (though Santana would never admit that) while sipping on their drinks. They have just started a second round of coffees and another milkshake for Brittany, when a new voice interrupts their conversation.

"Quinn?"

The blonde's head snaps around as she recognizes the voice, "Aunt Kirsty? What are you doing here? Is Beth here?"

"I thought that was you" the woman says, "Hi Rachel, Hi Rachel and Quinn's friends."

Quinn remembers her manners and makes introductions, she's told Santana and Brittany about her Aunts and Beth of course, and Kirsty is happy to be introduced to the two friends Quinn has talked about the most, after Rachel of course. Santana excuses herself and Brittany and Kirsty joins the two girls with her coffee.

"Is Beth here?" Quinn asks again.

Kirsty shakes her head, "Sorry, she's back in Columbus with Jane. I'm just here for preparatory meetings at the hospital before I transfer over."

Quinn noticeably deflates at this so Rachel takes her hand and gives it a squeeze.

"But I have some good news for you, our offer on the house has been accepted" Kirsty continues, "We move in the week before Thanksgiving. So if you'd like to spend some of the holiday with her, you can."

Quinn seems a little speechless at this, so it's Rachel that asks "That soon? I thought everything would take longer."

Kirsty shrugs, "The current owner wanted to be out before Thanksgiving so they could be with their family. And we wanted to move in before then so we could be with our family too. It worked out for everyone."

Quinn doesn't seem to be paying attention anymore and Rachel can see a tear running down her cheek. "She'll be here for Thanksgiving." It's a statement not a question, but it seems like Quinn really can't believe it.

Kirsty reaches across the table and takes Quinn's hand, "She'll be here and you can be with her for her first Thanksgiving and Christmas… If you want."

"I do" Quinn manages to get out, "I want that."

"I was going to stop by after I was done at the hospital and before I head back tonight to let you know." Kirsty adds, "I was just here to kill some time between meetings."

They sit and chat, or rather Rachel and Kirsty chats as Quinn appears to be off in a little world of her own, until Kirsty has to head back to the hospital. They sit there for a few minutes in silence before Quinn speaks.

"She's going to be here for Thanksgiving."

Rachel takes Quinn's hands in her own, "Yes she is. Are you okay?"

"Yeah" Quinn nods though Rachel can still see tears on the blonde's cheeks, "It's just a lot you know? I never thought I'd see a single Thanksgiving or Christmas with her and now she'll be here for her first ones."

"And her first birthday, don't forget that." Rachel notes

"And her first birthday" Quinn agrees, smiling through her tears.

* * *

After Quinn had recovered sufficiently, Rachel had persuaded Quinn to catch a movie at the local cinema. Quinn wasn't particularly keen until Rachel pointed out that they could sit in the back row and make out, which is exactly what they did. So it was around dinner time by the time the girls get back to the Berry house and Quinn is a little surprised when Rachel knocks on her own front door but when Santana opens the door the blonde realizes that the diva must have given Santana her key so they could collect their stuff.

Santana nods at Rachel as she lets them in, "We'll be ready in half an hour, Britt's up in the guest room with Quinn's stuff."

Rachel nods and turns to Quinn, "Go up to the guest room and get ready, Britt will help you. I'll come collect you in a bit."

"What's going on?" Quinn asks

"Just move" Santana says almost pushing her upstairs.

When she reaches the guest room Brittany ushers her into the shower and, once she climbs out, sits her down in front of the mirror and does her hair, a skill Quinn didn't know Brittany had. Makeup done, Quinn is a little surprised at the gown that Brittany has laid out for her but without any other option she climbs into the dress and is then made to sit on the bed and wait for Rachel.

A few minutes later there's a knock on the door and Quinn opens it to find Rachel similarly done up and looking gorgeous in her own gown.

"Quinn, would you like to join me for dinner?" Rachel asks offering the other girl her arm.

Quinn can't help giggle at how cute Rachel is acting but plays along, "I would love to" she replies slipping her arm into Rachel's and allowing the other girl to lead her down the stairs.

When they get downstairs, Rachel leads Quinn through the kitchen and out onto the back deck where her mouth drops open in surprised. Santana is standing next to a small table set for two complete with flowers and candles, the rest of the area is lit by strands of small white fairy lights and there are a couple of small patio heaters to keep the area warm. Rachel crosses to one of the chairs and holds it out for Quinn while Santana pours the girls drinks.

"Wine?" Quinn asks with a raise eyebrow.

"My fathers won't mind this once." Rachel says as she takes her own chair.

Santana says something about the first course being ready shortly and heads back into the kitchen leaving the two girls alone.

"You did this all for me?" Quinn asks

"Well" Rachel replies, "Credit where it's due, Santana and Brittany actually did most of it. All I did was kept you out of the house while they did it."

"But why?"

"Let's just enjoy dinner first, okay?" Rachel asks.

Quinn nods just as Santana brings out the first course, a soup of some kind that Quinn isn't familiar with but turns out to taste absolutely wonderful and a comfortable silence descends on the pair as they enjoy the meal. Brittany comes out to clear the bowls and Santana brings out the next course, receiving praise from the girls for the soup. Quinn takes a mouthful of her meal and groans with pleasure but notices after a moment that Rachel is examining her plate closely but not eating.

"What's wrong?"

Rachel shrugs, "I'm not entirely sure this is vegan, Santana might have forgotten…" She begins poking her plate with her fork.

"I'm not an idiot Berry" Santana's voice causes both girls to jump as she appears next to the table, "It is one hundred percent vegan friendly, promise. I had to change the recipe on the fly but I think it came out pretty well."

"And I thought you said vegan food tastes like crap" Quinn teases.

Santana rolls her eyes and huffs, "Not when I make it." She says before heading back into the house.

Rachel takes a mouthful of the meal and her eyes widen in surprise. Once she swallows she leans towards Quinn to whisper "Did you know she could cook like this?"

Quinn can only shake her head because at the moment her mouth is full of what has to be about the best thing she's ever eaten. Between mouthfuls she elaborates, "I knew she could cook, her Mom taught her and she's made the odd thing when Brittany and I stayed over, but nothing like this."

They actually have to force themselves to slow down and enjoy the dish or they would have wolfed it down without having time to appreciate it, but all too soon the meal is over and the plates have been cleared away. Rachel gets to her feet and offers her hand to Quinn.

"Dance with me?" she asks.

Quinn smiles and takes her hand and just as she's about to point out to Rachel that there's no music, small speakers hidden in the nearby bushes spring to life and so the blonde stands and steps into the smaller girls arms and they begin to move slowly to the music.

"This has been wonderful tonight Rach, thank you."

"I did have an ulterior motive" Rachel admits as she rests her head on her girlfriends shoulder.

"Mmmm" Quinn hums, "And what would that be." When there's no immediate answer she looks down at the girl holding her, "Rach?"

"Would you go to the Homecoming dance with me?" Rachel blurts out.

"I thought we were going already?" Quinn asks then understanding washes over her features, "Oh, But you wanted to ask me properly right? Romantically?" Quinn feels Rachel nod against her neck and she can just see the side of the diva's face turning red. "Don't blush baby, it's cute that you wanted to do it like this. And yes, I'd love to go to the dance with you."

Rachel smiles up at Quinn and the two girls kiss for a while completely lost in each other and ignoring the music playing around them until Santana's not so subtle cough brings them back to reality.

"Desert" Rachel says with a smile, "We've got your favorite, banana split with mint choc chip ice cream."

Quinn shakes her head and smiles at Rachel, "I think my favorite desert is Berry flavour now."

* * *

Quinn picks up Rachel for school on Monday morning as normal and both girls spend a moment sitting in the car park to compose themselves before heading in to the school. Neither girl's know exactly what to expect when they step into the school and both are a little nervous about what is going to happen.

In theory they had at least until Glee club before Jesse is supposed to make good on his threat but would he actually wait or would he jump the gun? Add to that the fact that this is the first school day after coming out to the Glee club and they are a little worried about what might have slipped out, especially since Finn disappeared during the last practice.

They jump to a knock on Quinn's window and find Santana and Brittany standing next to the car so they climb out and greet their friends.

"Nothing" Santana says.

"What?"

"There's nothing going on, no rumors, no gossip, no posters, no webpages, no mass text messages, nothing. Well, nothing relating to either of you two anyway. Even Jewfrow seems more interested in a rumor that Sue's going to run for President or something, though god help the country if that's true. And as far as I can tell no one has seen either Jesse or Finn this morning so far."

"You checked?" Rachel asks a little surprised.

"Of course I checked." Santana snaps, "You think I'd let you two walk in there blind?" She turns, grabs Brittany's hand and marches into the school leaving Rachel to watch the pair go.

"I'm going to have to apologize, aren't I?" Rachel asks.

"She does care about you, you know?" Quinn says, "I mean look at everything she did for you this weekend."

"I know, it's just still a surprise sometimes."

* * *

Santana's correct in that no one seems to be paying them any more attention than they normally do and the day proceeds like pretty much every Monday since the beginning of the school year. The glee club gathered for their practice and it was then that Kurt broke the news.

"Finn is quitting Glee club." Kurt says out of the blue.

"What? Why?" Rachel asks,

Kurt just shrugs, "He wouldn't tell me and yes I did ask, repeatedly. He just said to let you all know and that was it."

"Great, now what do we do?" Mercedes asks, "That leaves us one short of competition strength."

"Well we could always ask Jesse" Tina suggests

"No!" Quinn, Rachel, Santana and even Brittany snap at the same time and Tina jumps.

"Sorry, it was just a suggestion…"

"Don't worry about it Tina" Rachel sighs, "We'll sort something out."

* * *

Once again Rachel and Quinn were the last to leave at the end of practice. They walk up the isle of the auditorium hand in hand and Quinn pulls open the door to allow Rachel to exit first and bumps into the diva when she comes to an unexpected stop. Quinn glances up and see's why Rachel stopped.

Jesse was leaning on the wall across from the auditorium entrance, a scowl on his face. The three glare at each other for a few moments before Jesse pushes himself up off of the wall.

"I warned you." He said then turned and walked away.


	41. Chapter 41

**Authors Note: **Glad your all still enjoying the story and thank you all for the reviews. So we're about to find out what Jesse has planned and some of the fall out from it. enjoy.

And for anyone following "New York Heat", a new chapter (number 5) has been posted over at archive of our own a few days ago, check my profile for the URL.

* * *

Waking up in Rachel's bed with the diva pretty much wrapped around her had been an amazing start to the day for Quinn, as it always was, but she was pretty sure the day was about to go downhill, fast. The two girls are sitting in Quinn's car in her usual parking spot trying to gather the courage to climb out and face the day and Quinn couldn't help but notice the glances being thrown their way which would inevitably lead to whispered conversations and more glances. Quinn's hand seeks out Rachel's and their fingers slide together as naturally as they always seem to do, but the slightly sweaty palms gives away the nervousness of both girls.

Rachel sighs and gives Quinn's hand a squeeze, "Ready to face the music?" she asks turning to her girlfriend.

"Is it too late to change the plan?" Quinn jokes.

Rachel shrugs, "I'm afraid so. As they say, we've made our bed and now we have to sleep in it."

Quinn can't help but smile, "Sleeping in bed with you isn't really a problem."

Rachel smiles and blushes a little as the pair sit for a moment just staring into each other's eyes then Quinn takes a breath and glances towards the main entrance of the school.

"Okay, lets … wait."

"For what?" Rachel asks confused.

"For them" Quinn nods towards the school and Rachel follows the direction the blonde is looking to find Santana and Brittany heading towards them.

"Santana looks pretty grim." Rachel observes.

"It's not Santana I'm worried about."

Rachel looks at Brittany and is shocked by the fury reflected in her face. She isn't sure if Santana is holding her hand to make sure they don't get separated or to make sure the blonde doesn't go and hurt someone.

"I don't think I've ever seen Brittany so angry." Rachel observes slightly nervously.

"I don't think I've ever seen Brittany angry full stop." Quinn offers.

The pair watches as the other two Cheerios' cross the space to the car where Santana opens the rear door and almost pushes Brittany in, climbing in after her and pulling the door shut behind her. When the blonde makes a dive for the other side door, Quinn hits the child lock and foils her attempt to escape.

"Unlock the damn door Quinn!" Brittany demands rattling the door handle and huffing.

"No, not until you both tell me what the hell is going on."

"It's about what you'd expect" Santana says holding up, but not handing over, a folded piece of paper, "and probably worse. At first glance it's tacky and unimaginative but would have gotten the point across, but when you read the thing it just gets…" Santana trails off shaking her head. She sighs then continues, "They were up all over the school, most of the glee club are taking care of those, but it looks like he's stuck them into lockers as well, for our year anyway."

It was pretty common practice to push notes through the vents at the top of a locker door if you wanted to get a message to the locker owner but couldn't find them so that the next time they'd open the door the note would either fall out or would be right there in front of them. Quinn and Rachel wonder exactly what their class mates reactions were when they found this note.

"Most of the Glee club?" Rachel asks after a moment.

Santana just nods, "Tina wasn't feeling too great after seeing this" she waves the piece of paper, "so Mike took her to the nurse's office. And Puck went off looking like he wanted to kill someone."

Rachel and Quinn are pretty sure they heard Brittany mutter something about Puck having the right idea, but they both wisely choose to ignore it.

"So let's see it" Rachel says holding out her hand for the piece of paper, but Santana doesn't hand it over immediately.

"Rach, you might want to think twice about reading this." The Latina offers, "I wish I'd been given the choice."

"Thank you for your concern Santana" Rachel nods, "But I think its best we see what Jesse has said about us. And if you don't want to give us that copy I'm sure we'll have our own copy waiting for us in our lockers."

Santana shrugs and hands over the paper, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

The poster is about standard legal size with the top two thirds dominated by a color photo of Rachel and Quinn kissing in the front of Quinn's car, the word "Queerios" is emblazoned above their heads.

"How original" Quinn comments.

"The photo was taken on Friday. I remember I almost forgot that book which is why is wasn't in my bag." Rachel offers pointing at a text book that's just visible in the corner of the picture sitting on the dashboard.

"So he's been stalking you two as well." Santana says causing Rachel and Quinn to nod.

The bottom third of the poster is covered with text and by the time Rachel and Quinn have finished reading, they're both feeling a little sick and look pretty pale.

"Jesus" whispers Quinn

"I warned you" Santana points out to which the other two girls nod absently.

"So what do we do now?" Rachel asks no one in particular, "We can't just ignore this threat against us."

"You don't get it do you?" It's the first time Brittany has spoken since Quinn refused to unlock her door, she's been sitting sulking with her arms crossed over her chest. "It's not just about you two, ignore your photo and he's talking about any gay Cheerios."

Quinn considers Britt's statement for a moment, "Shit, Britt's right. We just assume he means us because our pictures there but he doesn't actually mention us in the text."

There's a moment of silence and if anyone had been looking they'd have seen Santana turn even paler if that was possible, then the Latina was yanking on the release for her door and producing a stream of expletives and statements like "No one threatens my Britt" but like Brittany, she's foiled by Quinn's child locks.

"Calm down." Quinn shouts in her head-bitch voice and even Santana stops trying to escape from the car. "We're not going to let him get away with this and we're not going to let him hurt anyone either." She takes a breath to calm herself and thinks for a moment, "We'll go and speak to Figgins like we planned and then if Figgins refuses to call them in, we'll go to the police ourselves. I'm sure they'd do something about threats like this."

Quinn surveys the others and once they have all indicated their agreement she unlocks the doors and climbs out of her car then rounds the front to slip her hand into Rachel's and give it a reassuring squeeze. Santana pulls Brittany out of her side with her so she doesn't have to let go of the blonde's hand and all four step on to the sidewalk at the front of the car. They look around and both Santana and Quinn come to the same conclusion at the same time, there are too many Cheerios standing around the parking lot.

There are always a few Cheerios around of course, there are so many of them and since Coach Sylvester demands they wear their uniforms at all times you can't really miss them. But out here in the parking lot their usually heading from or too their cars, not hanging around in groups chatting and Quinn guesstimates there are about a third of the current Cheerio strength doing just that right at this moment. Quinn and Santana share a glance and when Quinn nods, the Latina darts away from the group, grabs the arm of a nearby Cheerio and drags her back over to Quinn.

"What's going on?" Quinn demands eying the other girl. It's one of the seniors which actually makes her older than Quinn and Santana but the blonde is the HBIC so that puts her in charge.

"I-I don't know what you mean." The girl tries, but her stutter gives her away and Quinn glares at her. She sighs and glances back to the group she was standing with and shrugs. "Look, there are some of us that knew about you and Rachel and we're not about to let whoever created that have a chance of hurting either of you." She says pointing to the folded poster that Quinn still had in her hand.

"You knew?" Quinn and Rachel both ask at the same time.

The Cheerio just smirks, "Sure, you're not very subtle you know. I mean, even Santana and Brittany managed to keep their relationship secret for a few months before someone found out."

"What?!" demands Santana taking a step towards the girl, but Quinn holds out a restraining hand.

"Explain yourself."

The Cheerio looks at Santana and Brittany, "You remember about two months after you joined the Cheerios that Ashley walked in on you and Brittany making out in the Cheerios lounge?"

Ashley had been in her Senior year and the Head Cheerio when Santana, Brittany and Quinn had joined the Cheerios in their freshman year. It had been Ashley's graduation that had allowed Quinn to step up and take over the Head Cheerio role.

Santana nods, "But she didn't notice us."

"Please, the way she tells it she'd have to be blind and deaf not to notice the pair of you."

"So she told everyone?" Santana demands.

"No, she told people she could trust and made us all swear to keep an eye out for you. When she graduated she left Susan in charge and we've brought in Cheerios we could trust each year. When we realized what was going on between Quinn and Rachel, we extended the protection to them as well. Pretty much all the Cheerios that know are here right now."

This leaves Quinn and Santana speechless, they had no idea that this had been going on in the Cheerios for basically the last two and a half years.

It's Rachel that breaks the silence, "Why?" she asks, "Why did Ashley do that rather than get Santana and Brittany kicked out of the Cheerios? That would seem to be the way things are done in general."

"Ashley transferred here during her freshman year, her whole family moved after…" the Cheerio trails off then takes a breath and continues. "She had an older sister who came out as gay and got bullied so badly that she committed suicide. Ashley didn't want to see that happen to anyone else."

"Go" Quinn says after a moments silence and the Cheerio turns to leave but Santana reaches out and grabs her arm. "Thank You" Santana says quietly releasing her arm and the Cheerio just nods before returning to the group she had been standing with.

"Well" Quinn sighs, "I wasn't expecting that."

The four look around at the Cheerios around them, most no longer trying to look casual but either watching the girls or apparently looking around for any threat, and are stunned into silence by the care the others have shown for them even when they got no thanks for it.

Finally it's Rachel that breaks the silence, slipping her hand back into Quinn as she points out "We should really go and speak to Figgins now."

Quinn and Santana nod and the four girls, shadowed by the protective Cheerios, head towards the school's main entrance. Their about half way there when a police car pulls up and two officers head into the school.

"Looks like we won't have to call them then." Quinn observes.

When they reach the Principal's office the two officers are already inside talking to Figgins. The assistant tells them to wait but when Figgins sees them in the outer office he waves for them to come in.

"Officer Williams, Officer Jenkins" Figgins says gesturing to the cops, "This is Quinn Fabray, Rachel Berry, Santana Lopez and Brittany S. Pierce"

"Miss Fabray, Miss Berry, Do you have any idea who could have produced this poster?" Officer Williams asks holding up a folded copy of the poster the girls had already seen.

"Jesse St James."

It took a moment for everyone in the office to realize that a new comer and not one of the questioned girls had spoken and everyone turns to see Coach Sylvester standing in the office doorway holding a video tape which she tosses onto the Principal's desk.

"He used the Cheerios copier, it's the only one in the school that can make color copies. You can clearly identify him and see what he's copying. I'm just glad I got that Hi-definition security camera in there." Sue says.

"You need a Cheerios ID card for that copier." Quinn says.

Sue doesn't move her eyes from Figgins, "He used your card Q."

"He's been in my locker." Quinn says vaguely. Rachel takes her hand again and gives it a reassuring squeeze.

"What are you going to do about this Figgins?" Sue demands, "Your usual half-assed enforcement of the rules, or lack thereof, won't do this time. If you wimp out this time, I swear to whatever god you hold sacred, I will take your job and do it myself. I doubt I could do it much worse and I will not have _anyone_ threatening my Cheerios."

"Calm down Sue. If what you say about the video is correct, Mr St. James can consider himself expelled from this school immediately. Any further action will depend on the police which is why I called them in."

"Principal Figgins, Ladies" Officer Williams says to break into the argument, "This threat could be taken as being against any gay members of the Cheerios. Is there anyone else that could be effected and need to be notified?"

"No" Sue snaps.

"Yes" Santana says at the same time earning a glare from the coach, "I'm gay and Brittany is Bi, we're a couple." She meets Sue's glare as if challenging the coach to have a problem with her statement.

Sue throws her hands up in disgust, "My four best Cheerios seduced by the sapphic side. That damn Glee club has something to do with this." She turns and hauls the office door open before marching out and can be heard mumbling phrases like "damn glee club", "curly haired idiot" until the door closes behind her.

"Well, that could have gone worse." Rachel says trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Why don't you girls take the day off until we can deal with this?" Officer Williams says, "We'll be in touch soon to let you know what's happening."

Rachel is already dragging Quinn towards the office door, "Let's all go to my place, my father's will be at work so we'll have the place to ourselves."

* * *

**Authors Footnote: **Before anyone asks, no I don't know exactly what Jesse wrote for two reasons. Since I'm writing the story I'd have to write what he wrote and I hope I'm never able to write something that would cause that much distress and have those results and if I ever did I sure as heck wouldn't be posting it on a public website.


	42. Chapter 42

**Authors Note: **I'm not entirely sure how this chapter will go down so I've been off-and-on wondering if I should change it, but I've decided to go with it as it is below. Let me know what you think. Just let me say, I don't have much knowledge about the legal system over in the USA, I did ask some friends over there but none of them are lawyers or cops, so if you spot anything below that wouldn't be possible just go with it.

**Jaely: **Yes, I wouldn't be surprised if there were more gay cheerios than our four girls, but for the purpose of this story, they are the only ones that are actually out to any extent, anyone else is firmly still in the closet.

**And Finally **I'm going to bring this story to an end soon. There is going to be a couple more chapters after this, the homecoming dance and Beth's first thanksgiving, and an epilogue. And I'm not ruling out the possibility of a squeal, but right now I'm pretty much at the end of my plan and trying to keep it going would just ruin the story I think. That said I have a couple of prompts I'm working on (**PezberryFaberryLuvr**, the first couple of chapters of yours is done already) but I'm not planning on posting them until I've got a ways through them rather than posting as I write them which is what I've done with TRC. So feel free to follow me and you'll get more to read soonish.

* * *

The television flickers in the corner unwatched even though four pairs of eyes are turned towards it. All four girls are sitting on the sofa in the Berry's living room and for once Brittany and Santana aren't making out but each girl holds the hand of her girlfriend, almost afraid to let go.

It had taken some persuasion to ensure that Santana didn't go out hunting for Jesse, she'd been pretty adamant that the best thing to do with be to get him before he got to them, but when Brittany finally calmed down herself the three girls were able to persuade the fiery Latina that it would be best to leave the situation in the hands of the authorities unless absolutely necessary.

The hours had dragged past at a rate that made even the most boring subjects at school seem to fly past. Lunch had come and gone but no one had felt like eating so they had just sat there waiting. They weren't sure what they were waiting for but sooner or later something had to happen, Lima wasn't that large so Jesse couldn't hide forever so it was only a matter of time before they bumped into each other. Plus, didn't that cop say something about being in touch?

The knock on the door in the early afternoon causes all four girls to jump and Santana makes it to the window first, even though Brittany wouldn't let go of her hand. She peers out of the window then sighs in relief and visibly relaxes.

"It's that cop from this morning."

Rachel untangles her fingers from Quinn's and goes to open the door.

"Ah Miss Berry" Officer Williams greets her, "Would Miss Fabray, Miss Lopez and Miss Pierce still be here?"

Rachel stands back from the door to let the officer in, "Yes, we're all in the living room, please come in." she gestures towards the room in question and officer goes through.

"Ladies" he greets them all before taking an offered seat, "I'm sure you're all wondering what's going on."

"Just hurry up and spit it out" barks an unhappy Santana earning herself a slap on the arm from Brittany, "Sorry."

"Okay, well Principal Figgins has expelled Mr St. James…"

"Just call him Jackass like everyone else" Santana mutters.

"… from William McKinley High" the officer continues with only a glance at Santana, "He's also going to take out a restraining order which will make sure St. James can't go anywhere near the school. I've also taken the liberty of getting some temporary restraining orders for each of you, though you'll need to get your parents or guardians apply for full restraining orders. I've included some notes on how to go about that."

He passes out a folder to each of the girls which they accept and flip through curiously.

"I'm afraid there's not much more we can do right now. The public prosecutor has had a look at the poster St. James published and while he agrees that they are pretty nasty, there isn't anything there we can actually charge him with at this point."

"Is this because we're gay?" Quinn demands.

"Yeah, I bet you wouldn't be sitting on your ass if we we're a pair of straight couples getting threatened." Santana adds.

"Ladies, this has nothing to do with your sexuality, our hands would be just as tied with any other couples. What he's written is bad yes, but it's worded in such a way as to make it not quite an actionable threat under the law." Williams sighs and shakes his head, "It's almost as if he had a lawyer write it."

"I wouldn't put it past him." Rachel says and the other girls agree.

"So what do we do?" Santana demands angrily, "Look over our shoulders until he attacks one of us? Wait until he hurts someone before you lot will track him down and put him where he deserves to be?"

"Well actually we know exactly where he is." Officer Williams says, "And I seriously doubt he'll be giving you any trouble for quite a while."

The girls glance at each other in confusion and when the cop doesn't elaborate Rachel speaks up, "Well? What do you mean?" She demands.

"Do you know a…" Williams consults his notebook, "Mr Finn Hudson?"

"Oh god" Santana groans, "What's the Knuckle-Dragger done now?"

Officer Williams glances at Santana at the comment and clears his throat, "Will, Mr Hudson claims he wasn't feeling too well today and decided to walk home from school. He came across Mr St. James outside the local theatre and words were exchanged, Mr Hudson wouldn't say what about and the witness can't tell us, but we're pretty sure it was about the posters Mr St. James put up at the school. Voices were raised and eventually they started fighting. Mr Hudson has a possible concussion and some broken ribs and Mr St. James is unconscious, he seems to have fallen and hit his head rather badly against the curb. The doctors haven't given a prognosis for him at the moment."

There is a silence in the room so profound that for a moment Officer Williams isn't sure there is anyone else in the room other than him breathing. All four of the girls are staring at him in with various expressions ranging from surprise to astonishment. Just as he's about to say something, Rachel breaks the silence.

"Is Finn in trouble?" she asks in a small voice which still seems to echo around the room.

"Well, we haven't had a chance to interview Mr St. James obviously, but at this point but witnesses do indicate that Mr St. James was the first to start shouting and the first to throw a punch and that Mr Hudson stopped when Mr St. James fell and didn't try to run for it, instead waiting for the police to arrive. So it looks like a case of self-defence and an accident."

He reaches into a pocket and produces a car key, "And as long as we don't find his car parked for example in the North West corner of the theater car park…"

Quinn, sitting closest to the officer makes the car key disappear in a move so quick that Rachel literally blinked and missed it. The officer continues without missing a beat or making any comment.

"Then there's nothing to indicate that Mr Hudson went looking for Mr St. James so the meeting was entirely coincidental. He may get a warning or similar slap on the wrist, but he should be okay."

Almost as soon as the door closes behind Officer Williams, Rachel turns to Quinn.

"We should go and see Finn."

Quinn nods and moves to get her things but Santana stops them.

"Wait" she says holding out her hand, "Give me the key and Britt and I will move his car. We'll meet you at the hospital in a while."

Quinn passes Santana the key and the four girls go their separate ways.

* * *

Quinn and Rachel hadn't been allowed into Finn's room immediately, he was still being seen by the doctors and his mother was with him, but after a while they found themselves knocking gently before almost tiptoeing into his room. Finn was lying on the bed staring up at the ceiling and slowly looks over when the girls come in.

"Hey Rach, Hey Quinn" he says a little dopily.

"What were you thinking" demands Rachel hands on her hips and glaring at Finn, "Going after Jesse like that! You could have gotten seriously hurt or… or… ended up in prison or something."

Quinn barks a laugh for where she's standing at the foot of the bed looking at Finn's chart, "Rach honey, he's got a concussion, two broken ribs, a sprained wrist, various stitches, some pretty bad bruising and" she looks up at Finn, "a rather impressive black eye. I think that classifies as badly hurt."

"You should see the other guy." Finn tries lamely.

"Finn Hudson this is not a joke!" Rachel declares, "Why did you do this? What made you think you had the right to take the law in to your own hands?!"

"You saw what he wrote Rach." Finn says, rotating his head so he was looking up at the celling again so he didn't have to look at either girl. "I know you're in love with Quinn, Rach. And I promised myself I wouldn't get between you because you both seemed so happy, I could tell that from seeing you together. But I can't help that I still have feelings for you and when I saw those threats… I just had to do something."

"And what are you going to do if the police realise you went looking for him?"

Finn just half shrugs, "They have my car keys, they'll figure it out sooner or later but it's worth it if it teaches that bastard a lesson."

Rachel sighs and shakes her head, sliding one hand into Finn's as Quinn takes her other hand, "One of the officers that came to school this morning brought your keys over to my place, Santana's moving your car and Officer Williams says it'll probably get written up as a combination of self-defence and an accident."

"And St. James?"

"Unconscious" Quinn supplies, "It seems he hit his head pretty badly."

"Yeah, it sounded bad." Finn confirms.

There's a few moments silence then Rachel asks a question.

"Is that why you quit the Glee club? So you wouldn't get between us?"

"And it hurt seeing the two of you together." Finn laughs an ironic chuckle and winces at the pain it causes, "Up until Friday I still thought I had a chance if I just gave you some time, but seeing you together", he shakes his head, "I realised I didn't have a chance anymore and that just hurt too much. So yeah, I left for both our benefits."

"We're going to be one short for sectionals without you." Rachel observes, "Will you consider coming back?"

Finn looks at Quinn who glances at Rachel then nods once, "I don't know if that's a good idea Rachel." He says.

"Just think about it? Okay?"

"Okay."

There's a knock on the door and Santana and Brittany slip into the room, closing the door on the nurse that had been in the middle of saying "Just two visitors at a time." Santana leans on the door for a moment and rolls her eyes.

"Santana, Brittany" Finn greats them, "Didn't expect to see you two here."

"Well Gigantor, I guess I had to come and give you props for doing something right for a change." Santana says earning herself a glare from Rachel.

* * *

When the four finally left Finn's room, Rachel had pointed out that it was almost time for Glee club, so the four headed back to school only remembering as they sat in their respective cars in the parking lot that they would still be the centre of attention and that rumours would have been spread uncontrolled during their absence.

Rachel sighs and gives Quinn's hand a squeeze, "Ready to face the music?" she asks turning to her girlfriend.

"Déjà vu" Quinn says.

"That only applies if you feel something has happened before, not if it's actually happened before." Rachel points out and Quinn laughs.

They have only been there a few moments but already there were a group of Cheerios clearly waiting for them to get out of their cars.

"You'd almost think Coach Sylvester had sent them out here, they got here so quick." Rachel says looking out at the girls.

"Maybe" Quinn agrees with a laugh, "You did send her to PFLAG meetings after all. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of those meetings."

Quinn and Rachel climb out of their car, their hands automatically slipping together without conscious thought, to be joined moments later by Santana and Brittany, also hand in hand. They walk into the school, flanked by their Cheerio guard and ignoring the pointed looks and not to subtle whispers and head to the auditorium to tell the rest of the Glee club that New Directions were back and going to sectionals.

* * *

**Authors Footnote: **So how many of you still hate Finn? Yeah I know, in the show he's a bit of an asshole, but this story he hasn't outed Santana or done anything else like that. He's just a guy with feelings for someone that he's now realized is out of his reach, can't really blame him for that.


	43. Chapter 43

**Authors Note: **Since I didn't want to introduce new drama at this late stage, I've folded the homecoming dance and thanksgiving onto one. There's just a few events I want to highlight and I don't want to go into too much detail. The epilogue is already written and I'll post it tomorrow.

* * *

Since it had been Rachel that officially asked Quinn to the dance it was up to the diva, as Santana pointed out, to be the "man" for the night which left the Latina howling with laughter untill Brittany pointed out that the she was going to be her "man". So as well as buying a corsage, holding doors and fetching drinks for the blonde, Rachel is driving them both to and from the dance, which means no drinking and no top-of-the-stairs reveal for the dress that Santana had found. That is kind of a bummer because just turning up at the front door in it won't have the same impact.

In all honesty though, Rachel is quite looking forward to pampering Quinn for the evening with the proviso that Quinn will do the asking and pampering next time. What she does have a problem with is her father's deciding that they want their own photos of the pair together before the dance and apparently of every moment of the run up to the dance too, which means they have followed Rachel to Quinn's house and were even now taking photos as Rachel walks up to the front door. Thank god she made them leave the video camera at home.

"Will you please give it a rest with the camera…!" she sighs as one of her father's almost blinds her with the flash for what felt like the millionth time.

She made it to the door without being totally blinded by her over enthusiastic father and she hardly has to knock before Mrs Fabray has the door open and they're all inside.

"Rachel Honey, you look beautiful" Mrs Fabray says before pointing her own camera at the girl.

Rachel digs deep into her performance persona and pulls out the biggest smile she can, right now all she wants is to collect Quinn and get to the school so they can spend some quality time on the dance floor but before that she's going to have to put on her red carpet face and wait for the flashes to die down. She chalks it up as good practice for the future but her resolve is further tested when Quinn's Aunts descend from helping Quinn to get ready, Jane carrying Beth, to add their flashes to the onslaught.

With all the attention on Rachel, no one immediately notices when Quinn arrives at the top of the stairs which turned out to be a good thing because when the blonde sees what Rachel is wearing she feels like she needs to go and sit down again. While the dress the diva wares may be considered the classic 'little black dress' it was also so much more and, Quinn had to admit, so much less.

The straps are shoe-string thin, the back so low cut that it exposed half of the smaller girls torso, Quinn can't help but notice the fact the diva isn't wearing a bra, and the dress itself is almost as short as those tiny skirts that Quinn sometimes wishes Rachel still wore to school. The Cheerios skirt is revealing but Quinn had long ago decided that sometimes seeing less is a whole lot more enticing. And while overall the dress is perfectly modest, it somehow gives the impression of being nothing more than a thin scrap of material which could be blown away at the slightest breath to leave the wearer totally naked.

Quinn spends a few moments trying to remember how to breathe as her eyes take in the sight before her and then she tries to work out how she was going to make it through the night without doing what she badly wanted to already, which was to rip the almost-there dress off of the diva's body and ravish her right there in front of their parents and her aunts. It was going to be a very long night.

It only takes one subtle clearing of the throat from Quinn to gain Rachel attention, her head snapping around and up so quickly that Quinn is sure the diva was going to get whiplash, and it is Rachel's turn to lose her breath. Quinn's dress is light blue to complement her skin tone with a beaded bodice that's lightly corseted leading to full skirts that flow out over her hips and fall to her knees. Her hair is loosely curled and with the light behind her as it was now, Rachel couldn't help but think it looked like the blonde was wearing a halo.

"You look beautiful."

They both said it at the same time and they both blush in response totally oblivious to the adults around them chuckling and continuing to take photos. Quinn descends the stairs, Rachel reaching up to take the other girls hand as she nears the bottom, and they both come together in a long kiss that causes another flurry of flashes from the assembled cameras.

"Are you ready to go?" Rachel asks when they finally part, slightly out of breath and suddenly aware of the audience.

When Quinn nods, Rachel slips her hand into the blondes and they walk out to the car. Rachel plays her role and holds the door for Quinn before power walking around the car to climb in the driver's side. The drive to the school is uneventful and Quinn even waits for Rachel to open the car door for her again before climbing out and walking hand in hand with her girlfriend towards the building.

"My, my, don't you scrub up well Berry." Santana says as she and Brittany appear next to the diva.

"Thank you Santana" Rachel says, "Though I know you've seen the dress before. And may I say that both of you look particularly wonderful tonight too."

"She's seen the dress?" Quinn asks, an eyebrow disappearing into her bangs as she observes Santana smirking at her.

"You should thank her" Rachel turns to Quinn and wraps her arms around the other girls neck, "She found the dress for me."

"Hmmm" is all Quinn says as Rachel buries her face in the blonde's neck, but then mouths a thank you towards Santana who just smirks, again.

"You know that offer of a threesome is still open Berry." Santana says, then eyes Quinn and adds "or a foursome." Before disappearing into the building with Brittany.

Quinn felt Rachel stiffen against her at Santana's words and thought a little light teasing might be in order.

"A foursome, hmmm? How did that come about?"

"It was the day we went dress shopping" Rachel started speaking quickly and looking rather nervous, "Brittany dragged you off and the next thing I know Santana's dragging me to the changing room. She had this dress and she just wanted me to try it on but I didn't see it and I-I thought she wanted to… you know… especially after the previous day. I said no and she said she was with Brittany the only way that would happen is if we had a threesome, or foursome if you were down with that." Rachel had said all this is pretty much a single breath which resulted in her being a little breathless when she was done.

"Relax Rach" Quinn chuckles, "I know what Santana's like and I probably would have thought the same thing in your place." She pauses for a moment feeling the other girl relax in her arms before teasing, "So... not interested in a foursome then?" which earns her a slap on the arm.

The girls enter the school a little cautiously, they've been together for a while now but holding hands, hugging and occasional kisses in the school halls wasn't the same as turning up with another girl as your date to a school dance. But the reaction at school had been non-existent much to Rachel and Quinn's surprise, to the point that their Cheerio guards even faded away, especially when it became obvious that Jesse wasn't getting out of hospital any time soon. Rachel was pretty sure that there was always someone still keeping an eye on them though.

And this evening as they step hand in hand into the hall where the dance is being held, there is just as little reaction. Friends and sycophants stop to say hello and complement them on how good they look but no one seems to want to cause any trouble as they dance along with everyone else. They take a break, Quinn excusing herself to use the bathroom and Rachel heads towards the punch bowl, guarded by Coach Sylvester, to get herself a drink.

"Eva" Sue greets her.

"Coach Sylvester" Rachel replies.

When nothing else appears to be forthcoming Rachel helps herself to a glass of punch and turns back to survey the dance floor, her eyes landing on Santana and Brittany apparently lost in each others gaze and she can't help but smile. A hand descends on Rachel's shoulder causing the diva to jump and she only relaxes a little when she realizes it belongs to Sue.

"Streisand" Sue says, "Q might look tough but you could hurt her so easily and if you do, in the words of Sandbags over there, I will ends you."

Rachel swallows and nods, pretty sure the coach doesn't make idle threats, "I have no intention of hurting her Coach."

"Good enough."

When Quinn returns they dance into the early hours of the morning, neither even considering leaving the others arms.

* * *

In Rachel's opinion thanksgiving arrived almost immediate after the homecoming dance. Time that had crawled past at the beginning of the year seemed to fly past now, well except when she stared into Quinn's eyes when time itself seemed to stand still. But now, having spent the morning with her fathers and other relations that could make it, Rachel had arrived at Quinn's house in time for thanksgiving dinner.

Her knock on the door is answered by Quinn and Rachel can't help but smile when she sees the blonde is holding Beth and like every time she's seen the two together previously, which was a lot recently, she can't help but imagine Quinn holding their own child. It takes her a few moments before she realizes that Quinn is speaking to her.

"Rach… Rach…" Quinn says waving her hand in front of the diva's face before finally getting a reaction, "Where did you go there Rach?"

Rachel can't help but blush, her eyes dropping to the floor, "It's nothing."

"Come on Rach, you can tell me." Quinn says taking the diva by her hand and pulling her into the house.

"It's just…" Rachel takes a breath, "Every time I see you holding Beth I can't help but imagine you holding one of our own kids."

Rachel's turned beetroot red at this point, she's pretty sure this is the dictionary definition of too fast but she can't help it whenever she sees the two together and after all Quinn did ask. She's basically just told the blonde that she's thought about them being married, because Quinn knows the diva wants that before having kids, and spending the rest of their lives together and Rachel's not sure how Quinn will take that. But when she looks up she finds Quinn smiling back at her.

"I do too Rach, all the time."

And Rachel's heart melts a little more. Quinn pulls Rachel close and they kiss, only to be interrupted a few moments later by Jane calling through from the kitchen.

"Not in front of the baby!"

Which causes both Quinn and Rachel to giggle because frankly, Jane and Kirsty are just as bad.

"So, our Aunts are here as you've probably gathered but other than them, you're the first to arrive." Quinn supplies.

Quinn's Aunts had moved in to the house a few blocks over as they had planned just before the homecoming dance and both Rachel and Quinn spend a lot of time over there visiting Beth so at some point Quinn's Aunts had become Rachel's Aunts too. They considered her as much family as Quinn was and Rachel was honoured to be able to call them her aunts too.

Rachel and Quinn sit in the living room playing with Beth while they wait for the others to arrive and it doesn't take long before there is another knock at the door. This time Kirsty, who happened to be descending the stairs after heading up on an errand, answered the door.

"Hi Santana, Hi Brittany" she greets the two girls.

"Hi Aunt Kirsty" both girls reply.

While both Santana and Brittany's family were accepting of their sexuality and relationship, neither girl felt they could ask their families for advice and so, after some reluctance by Santana, they had turned to Kirsty and Jane. It had surprised everyone just how well Santana had gotten on with the older women and having someone to ask advice from, share experiences with and just talk to had been a relief that neither Santana or Brittany had known they needed. In the end they had started spending as much time at Jane and Kristy's house as Rachel and Beth did and somewhere along the line they had adopted Kirsty and Jane as aunts too.

Now everyone had arrived they sat down for dinner. Beth started to grumble when Quinn tried to put the little girl in her high chair so in the end Rachel, Quinn, Brittany and even Santana took turns sitting with the child on their laps while they ate.

"So" Rachel says in a lull in the conversation, "I believe its traditional in situations like this for everyone round the table to take turns in tell us one thing from this year they are thankful for. I'll start with being thankful that I found someone to love that loves me just as much." She turns to Quinn as she says this and wraps her arms around the other girl in a hug.

Santana is thankful that her family accepted her sexuality and relationship with Brittany so easily. Brittany is thankful that everyone as school was so cool about them both. Kirsty and Jane are both thankful for being given a chance to have a daughter as wonderful as Beth and Judy says she's thankful that she's been given a second chance with both her daughter and her sister.

When it becomes Quinn's turn there's a pause as the blonde watches the baby girl laying in her lap play with her fingers and then she shakes her head.

"I can't pick just one thing. This year started so badly but in the end I think that it's probably turned out to be one of the best of my life." Quinn says with a small smile, "I'm thankful I had Beth because even with all the pain and drama I brought a gorgeous new life into this world and no matter how it happened or what happens in the future, that's something important."

"I'm thankful I got a second chance with Mom" Quinn looks up and her Mother with a smile, "We may not be perfect, we're stronger together than we've ever been." She looks over at Santana and Brittany, "I'm thankful that I've got two friends in this world that stuck by me through thick and thin, through all the drama and wild mood swings." Which receives a chuckle from Santana.

"I'm thankful that Beth got adopted by parents who will love her as much as I do and I'm thankful that their willing to uproot their lives to give me a chance to be in Beth's life and so they can be part of mine."

Finally she turns to Rachel and takes the diva's hand in the one of hers not busy holding on to Beth "But mostly I'm thankful that I've found someone that loves me as much as I love them and that I can quite happily imagine spending the rest of my life with."


	44. Epilogue

**Author's Note: **So here we are at the end, my friends. I think, for my first serious attempt at fiction writing, that this has ended up pretty well but one thing I do know is that it wouldn't have been the same without everyone who reviewed and gave feedback. This is the longest thing I've ever written, almost 97 thousand words (the discrepancy with FanFiction's count is due to authors notes) and I doubt I would have finished it without your help and encouragement, so thank you all.

To those who have read but never reviewed, thank you as well and please take this chance to let me know what you think, but please keep your comments nice, I don't mind constructive criticism but if your just going to be unpleasant then keep it to yourself.

I think I've wrapped up all the loose ends in the following epilogue, but if you have any questions you can submit a question to my new tumblr blog at:

talwynfanfic -dot- tumblr -dot- com

Just click the "Ask me anything" link. The only other thing on there right now is a list of my fiction that are completed or in progress, there might be more interesting stuff later.

* * *

Quinn was exhausted when she arrived home after her shift at the café but she couldn't help but smile when she found Rachel sitting on the sofa in their living room.

"Hi Baby." She says greeting Rachel with a hug and kiss, "I wasn't expecting to see you here yet, did they let you out early?"

As Quinn settles down into the sofa, Rachel snuggles up into her side, "Yes, they want us rested for the opening day tomorrow."

Rachel had graduated from NYADA and, to absolutely no one's surprise, had easily landed her first role as the leading lady in an off-Broadway play. There were already rumors that it might be transferred to Broadway itself if the first few weeks went well but it has almost ended before it started when only a couple of weeks ago the lead dancer had gotten hurt in a car accident leaving too little time for another dancer to learn the role.

Well, too little time for most dancers, but Rachel had taken Brittany along and persuaded the director to give her a go and the blonde had picked up all the dances with astounding speed, much to the delight of everyone involved.

"So Brittany's home too?" Quinn asks.

"With Santana in their room."

The four had spent a miserable first year in New York separated in dorms for their various schools and had sworn they weren't going to do that again. The four families had gotten together, after a lot of pleading, and found them a nice apartment in a good neighborhood with easy access to both NYADA for Rachel and Brittany and NYU for Santana and Quinn and the four girls had moved in together. It had certainly been an interesting experience that quickly resulted in a request to Rachel's fathers to get Quinn and Rachel's bedroom be sound proofed, not so much to allow Rachel to practice her singing without disturbing her neighbors as had been claimed, but to give the girls somewhere to retreat to when Santana and Brittany started getting noisy.

"You're still going to be able to come tomorrow?" Rachel asks.

"Of course" Quinn assures her girlfriend, "Even if I have to quit I'll be there, but Cherry is going to cover for me."

Rachel didn't know it yet, but both her fathers, Quinn's mother, Quinn's Aunts and Beth had all come to the city to see Rachel's first performance.

"Oh" Rachel says, remembering something from her mail check on the way back home earlier that day, "There's a letter for you from a publisher."

"Probably another rejection." Quinn says glumly as she watches Rachel fish out the letter from the stack of mainly junk mail on the coffee table.

"Don't say that Honey, You have to stay positive."

"I know, but you know how hard it is to get anything published if you don't already have a contract."

She takes the envelope from Rachel and rips it open without any ceremony, unfolding the letter and scanning the text on the page quickly. Then going back and reading it again and again, her mouth dropping open in surprise.

"What?" Rachel demands, ripping the letter out of Quinn's hands and scanning it herself. Her squeals of joy bring Santana and Brittany running from their room wrapped in sheets.

"What's going on?" demands Santana

"Quinn's getting published" Rachel almost shouts, "And they've offered her and advance for her next book."

"Oh, is that all?" Santana says, "Congrats Q"

"Is that all?!" Rachel eye's Santana, "Couldn't you at least pretend to be happy for her?"

"What? Have you read that book?" Santana asks with a shrug as she heads back to her bedroom with Brittany, "It was pretty much inevitable."

After a few drinks to celebrate, they decide to go out to celebrate properly at some point when Rachel isn't about to make her debut the next day, they collapse back onto the sofa and Quinn notes another letter addressed to both of them that is sitting unopened.

"Hey, this is addressed to you too, how come you haven't opened it?" Quinn asks.

"I thought I'd gotten them all, what is it?"

Quinn opens the letter and scans it with a sigh. She's not exactly sure how she feels about this. "It looks like St. James finally woke up, that's what? Five years."

"About that." Rachel says worriedly, "Does it say anything else?"

"He can't remember anything for a couple of months before he hit his head they think." Quinn says reading on, "He doesn't remember anything about being at McKinley and they say it's going to take him months to be able to get about on his own again after being stuck in bed for so long."

"I guess that's about the best we can hope for."

Quinn nods, "And if he tries anything now, at least the law is on our side."

* * *

Rachel and Brittany's show had went off without a hitch and when the final curtain came down the whole theater were on their feet giving them all a standing ovation. Quinn and Santana had tried to sneak back stage to see their girls after the show, but had been stopped by a rather large security guard that hadn't been phased in the least by Santana's claims to have "razor blades all up in" her hair.

Eventually Rachel and Brittany made it out to meet the others and Rachel wasn't surprised to find her parents and Quinn's family since she'd spotted them in the audience during the first act.

"And I almost missed my mark." She complains to Quinn, "You should have told me."

They all retreated to a nearby restaurant for a celebratory mean and their waiting for their main course when Quinn's Aunt Jane speaks up.

"Quinn, Rachel, we have a little bit of a surprise for you."

"What?" both girls ask together.

Kirsty and Jane swap nervous glances then Jane continues "Kirsty, Beth and I are moving to New York."

It takes a moment before Quinn can actually reply. She had been dreading not seeing Beth as much as she had, it was bad enough when they were at university but Rachel accompanied Quinn back to Lima at every opportunity so all three of them could spend time together. But with the need for Rachel to be in New York if she wanted to get onto Broadway, Quinn had been dreading having to choose between the woman she is in love with and the daughter she loves.

"You are?" Quinn asks, swallowing the emotion building in her chest, "I thought you were happy in Lima".

"We are but the reason we moved to Lima isn't there anymore, you're here in New York. It would be rather pointless to move to Lima to let you be in Beth's life and then stay there when you move to New York."

"So you're just going to move? What about all your friends? What about Beth's friends? Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Quinn questions, more than a little shocked that her Aunts would be willing to root up their lives not just once but twice just to give her a chance.

"We always knew you wouldn't want to stay in Lima, especially when we realized you were in love with someone whose dream was Broadway. So even back then we knew we'd be moving again." Jane points out.

"My contract at the hospital was specifically time boxed" adds Kirsty, "And I had no problem finding a new contract out here."

"And you even helped us find a place to stay." Jane says.

It takes a moment but it's Rachel that understands, "The apartment next to ours?"

Jane nods, "When you mentioned it was empty a few months ago we called up the superintendent. He was happy to let us have it since we had already been involved in arranging your apartment."

"So you're moving to New York and are going to be living next door?" Quinn asks still slightly shocked. She feels Rachel's hand slide into her own and they both give the others hand a little squeeze.

"Well we can find another apartment if you'd prefer" Jane says uncertainly, "We just thought you'd want to be closer to Beth than further away and there happens to be a good school covering that area."

"No, no I'd love that" Quinn says bringing her free hand up to wipe away the tears that had started to roll down her cheeks, "It's just so much of a surprise."

Indeed it was so much of a surprised that Quinn forgot about her final surprise for Rachel until they were sitting with their after mean coffee, which was find because that was when the blonde was intending to spring the surprise anyway. She extracts what she needs from her purse and waits for a pause where she can get Rachel's attention.

"Rachel" She swallows nervously but continues anyway, "We've been together for over five years now and some of that time has been hard, some terrifying but a lot of it's been the best years of my life and you've always been there for me through the good and the bad…"

Quinn swallows and chuckles when she realizes she's forgotten pretty much everything she wanted to say. "Well I had this whole speech worked out but I can't remember it so I guess I'll do it the old fashioned way."

She slips down on to one knee, totally missing the fact that the rest of the restaurant seems to have gone quiet around them. She opens the little box she retrieved from her purse and looks at the contents, "Rachel, I love you do much that I don't even want to imagine the rest of my life without you." She turns the box towards Rachel and looks up, finding the diva sitting with her hands covering her mouth and tears already rolling down her cheeks.

"Rachel Barbra Berry, will you marry me?"

There's a moment of silence as the whole restaurant seems to be holding its breath. Rachel opens and closes her mouth a few times but for the first time ever she seems to be speechless so she reverts to nodding frantically. Quinn smiles in relief and reaches for Rachel's hand, slipping the engagement ring into her finger then Rachel pulls the blonde up into her lap and they kiss, totally oblivious to the applause coming from the rest of the restaurant.

FIN


End file.
